unrealize

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English

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Etymology

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In sense 1, unreal +‎ -ize.

In sense 2, un- +‎ realize.

Verb

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unrealize (third-person singular simple present unrealizes, present participle unrealizing, simple past and past participle unrealized)

  1. (transitive) To make unreal; to idealize.
    • 1875, James Russell Lowell, Spenser[1]:
      His fancy, habitually moving about in worlds not realized, unrealizes everything at a touch.
    • 1951, Journal of Literary History, page 39:
      But De Quincey generally sees a much deeper technical significance, an idealizing or unrealizing effect in the language.
    • 2002, Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet[2]:
      Every action that realizes a dream or desire unrealizes it in reality.
  2. (nonce word) To alter one's own viewpoint after a previous realization; to change one's mind.
    I easily realized that all of his statements were wrong. How do you unrealize that?

Anagrams

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