materialize

verb

ma·​te·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

materialized; materializing

transitive verb

1

a

: to make material : objectify

b

: to cause to appear in bodily form

materialize the spirits of the dead

2

: to cause to be materialistic

intransitive verb

1

: to assume bodily form

2

a

: to appear especially suddenly

b

: to come into existence

materializer noun

Synonyms of materialize

• begin
• originate
• arise
• start
• appear
• commence
• be
• emerge

Examples of materialize in a Sentence

A waiter suddenly materialized beside our table.

Rain clouds materialized on the horizon.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the Fruitridge project is not the only time Step Up has accepted public funds to build homeless housing that never materialized. — Theresa Clift july 30, Sacbee.com, 30 July 2026

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan expressed a similar urgency about when and in which of Meta’s product lines the returns on AI investment would start to materialize in force. — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 30 July 2026

The June warning about Nasdaq’s new fast-entry rules also materialized, and faster than expected. — Dan Irvine, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

One of the crossovers that hasn’t materialized yet in the Spiderverse is Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man and Tom Hardy‘s Venom, but Amy Pascal still has hope. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 29 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1710, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for materialize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

Kids Definition

materialize

verb

ma·​te·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

materialized; materializing

1

: to give material form and substance to

2

: to assume or cause to assume bodily form

a ghost materialized out of nowhere

3

a

: to come into existence

a promise that never materialized

b

: to appear suddenly