visualize

verb

vi·​su·​al·​ize ˈvi-zhə-wə-ˌlīz 

ˈvi-zhə-ˌlīz, 

ˈvizh-wə-ˌlīz

visualized; visualizing

transitive verb

: to make visible: such as

a

: to see or form a mental image of : envisage

trying to visualize the problem

b

: to make (an internal organ or part) visible by radiographic visualization

intransitive verb

: to form a mental visual image

Synonyms of visualize

• imagine
• envision
• see
• picture

Examples of visualize in a Sentence

She tried to visualize the scene he was describing.

Before you swing, visualize yourself hitting the ball.

Recent Examples on the Web

Parsons was already deeply enmeshed in imagining, and visualizing, strange new worlds online. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026

To make the behavior easier to visualize, the researchers demonstrated a Bluetooth connection operating normally at low temperatures before being cut off after heating the material. —New Atlas, 25 May 2026

To visualize the spill, 7,000 gallons of water spilled over a 100-yard football field would mean the entire surface would be covered by a little less than a quarter of an inch of liquid, according to Whelton. —Paris Barraza, USA Today, 24 May 2026

In trying to visualize a system, an artist can end up reproducing its logic, prioritizing scale and efficiency over meaning, over anything human. —Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for visualize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize
• butterflies

Kids Definition

visualize

verb

vi·​su·​al·​ize ˈvizh-(ə-)wə-ˌlīz 

ˈvizh-ə-ˌlīz

visualized; visualizing

: to make visible

especially : to form a mental image of

Medical Definition

visualize

transitive verb

vi·​su·​al·​ize

variants also British visualise

ˈvizh-(ə-)wə-ˌlīz, ˈvizh-ə-ˌlīz 

visualized also British visualised; visualizing also British visualising

: to make visible: as

a

: to see or form a mental image of

b

: to make (an organ) visible by radiographic visualization

visualize the gallbladder

c

: to prepare (as an organism or tissue) for microscopic examination especially by staining