Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To cause to become real or actual.
- intransitive verb To cause to become materialistic.
- intransitive verb To come into existence; become real.
- intransitive verb To appear, especially suddenly: synonym: appear.
- intransitive verb To take physical form or shape. Used especially of a spirit or ghost.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To give a material form or bodily existence to; make physically perceptible; embody in any manner. See II.
- To give the character of metaphysical materialism to; render materialistic.
- To reduce to a material basis or standard; treat as pertaining only to matter; give a material character to; make material, low, coarse, sensual, etc.: as, to
materialize thought, morality, or mythology; to materialize one's ideas or enjoyments. - To become material; assume a material form; in recent spiritualistic use, to assume, as a spirit or immaterial entity, a form which is perceptible by the senses, or one that is visible, tangible, and (in the case of supposed spirits) capable of physical exertion.
- To take form or shape; come into perceptible existence; become real: as, the project has not yet materialized.
- Also spelled
materialise .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb colloq. To appear as a material form; to take substantial shape.
- intransitive verb To come into existence.
- transitive verb To invest with material characteristics; to make perceptible to the senses; hence, to present to the mind through the medium of material objects.
- transitive verb To regard as matter; to consider or explain by the laws or principles which are appropriate to matter.
- transitive verb To cause to assume a character appropriate to material things; to occupy with material interests.
- transitive verb (Spiritualism) To make visable in, or as in, a material form; -- said of spirits.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive, US To cause to take physical form, or to cause an object to appear.
- verb intransitive, US To take physical form, to appear seemingly from nowhere.
- verb Alternative spelling of
materialise .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb come into being; become reality
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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But Will Keep Its Secrets To mark the 84th anniversary of Harry Houdini's death, one of the magician's most famous props will materialize from a New York City magic shop as a key part of a new exhibit.
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On the other hand, regarding fiction writing in general -- art doesn't materialize from a vacuum.
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Then – boom – a strong concept seemed to materialize from the ether.
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I had seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all the way to the op-ed page of the Post.
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I had seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all the way to the op-ed page of the Post.
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I had seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all the way to the op-ed page of the Post.
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I had seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all the way to the op-ed page of the Post.
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I had seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all the way to the op-ed page of the Post.
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I had seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all the way to the op-ed page of the Post.
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I had seen a story materialize from a mere phone call and followed it first hand, all the way to the op-ed page of the Post.
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