Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ACTUALIZE

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"ACTUALIZE" Meaning: To actualize something is to make it real, or to actually do it for real. When something actualizes, it becomes real, or it happens for real. Pronunciation: Lots of ways are correct. I prefer "ACK shoe uh lize." Part of speech: Verb. It's both transitive (you actualize something) and intransitive (something actualizes on its own.) Other forms: actualized, actualizing, actualization How to use it: It seems that the transitive verb is more common. To use that one, talk about actualizing an idea or a concept or a possibility, actualizing a project or plan, actualizing a change or an improvement, actualizing an interest or a desire or a passion, actualizing a goal or a dream, actualizing a belief or a principle or a standard, and so on. Sometimes you include a reflexive pronoun (one that ends in -self) to talk about ideas and potentialities that actualize themselves, changes and gains and effects that actualize themselves, a mind or a personality that actualizes itself, and so on. If you talk about people actualizing themselves (or people "self-actualizing,") you mean they're blossoming: they're fulfilling their potential in life. "By quitting his dull job and staying home to write and be a full-time dad, he actualized himself." And to use the intransitive verb, talk about an idea that actualizes, a project that actualizes, a change that actualizes, etc. She said she didn't have the time or money to actualize her plan to be self-employed. I think it was just her unwillingness to take the risk. Laws don't actualize until they see consistent enforcement. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "actualize" means when you can explain it without saying "make actual" or "make it really happen." Think of a time you started a new job, a new hobby, or just a new habit or new way of doing things, and fill in the blanks: "(Doing something in particular) let me actualize my (interest in / desire for) _____." Example: "Moving across the ocean again let me actualize my desire to own fewer things: it really helps you downsize your stuff when the cost of moving it is exorbitant." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words: This month, challenge your powers of memory and recall (or just get ready to reign supreme on Wheel of Fortune) as we play with two-word phrases that you’ll find in a dictionary. We’ll start off with easy tasks and advance to harder ones as the month goes on. See the right answer to each question the following day. You might even see a new phrase that inspires your curiosity and makes you look it up. Have fun! (Note: Every dictionary recognizes a different set of two-word phrases. I used the OED to make these game questions.) Yesterday's question: You’ll see the first word of each phrase, along with plenty of letters in the second word. See how many of them you can think of: permanent d__ permanent f_v_ permanent g_s permanent h__dn_ss permanent __k permanent l__n permanent m__k__ permanent t__th Answers: permanent dye permanent five permanent gas permanent hardness permanent ink permanent loan permanent marker permanent tooth Try this one today: You’ll see the first word of each phrase, along with plenty of letters in the second word. See how many of them you can think of: driving r___e driving sc___l driving t__t A Point Well Made: Aesop: “Union gives strength.” 1. The closest opposite of ACTUALIZE is A. DISTRIBUTE B. CREATE C. FAIL 2. We're skeptical that these _____ will ever be actualized. A. accounts B. errors C. promises Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C Exploring the archives: Today's word is really, really useful! To actualize something is to make it real. Of course, to realize something is also to make it real--but that sounds like we mean "recognize" or "understand" instead of "make real," which doesn't help at all. ("Actualize" to the rescue!) Other words we've looked at that strike me as super-useful include offal, ramify, and velleity. Could you recall what each means?