Realized

Realized is the past tense and past participle of realize. Realize comes from Old French realiser, from Latin realis meaning "real." In modern English, realized is typically used in American English, while the variant realised is common in British English. The term may denote becoming aware of something, or bringing something into existence or actuality.

As a verb, realized can mean to become aware of a fact or idea: "I realized I had left my keys in the car." It can also express a transformation of intention into accomplishment, as in "to realize a goal" or "to realize a plan."

In finance and accounting, realized refers to gains or losses that have actually occurred through a completed transaction. Realized gains are profits from selling an asset; unrealized gains are increases in value that exist only on paper while the asset is still held. The term is also used in a broader sense, such as realized volatility, describing the actual observed variability of returns over a period.

Beyond everyday usage, realized can function as an adjective meaning "made real" or "actual," as in a realized dream or a realized potential. In specialized fields such as music, realization denotes the practice of supplying a realized accompaniment for a figured bass; in philosophy or cognitive science, realization may refer to the process of bringing a concept into concrete existence or awareness.