Actualized

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make an idea or potential real through action and effort
2. Brought something into reality through effort or realization
3. Turned a concept or possibility into an existing or functioning state

Etymology: "Actualized" is the past form of "actualize," which means to make something real or bring it into being. The verb is built from "actual" plus the suffix "-ize," so the story of "actualize" is really the story of that suffix. "-ize" came into English through Middle French "-iser" and Late Latin "-izare," which were themselves borrowed from Ancient Greek "-izein," a verb-forming ending that turned nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make or treat in a certain way." The base word "actual" has its own older lineage. It passed into English through Middle French and Late Latin "actualis," meaning "active" or "practical," derived from Latin "actus," an act or deed. Its original sense was closer to "active" than to "real," and the modern meaning of "actual" as "existing in fact" developed later. Put together, "actualize" originally meant something like "to make active or effective," and the sense of "making something real" grew naturally from that idea of turning intention into deed.

Synonyms: realized, implemented, fulfilled

Antonyms: theoretical, unrealized