Which to use
“materialize” is a verb and “materialized” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,367
- “materialize” frequency rank
- #32,911
- “materialized” frequency rank
- 62278
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | materialize | materialized |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To cause to take physical form, or to cause an object to appear. | Having taken physical form; having become real. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set materialize and materialized apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
materialize and materialized form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “materialize” sits inside “materialized” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
materialize is recorded at frequency rank #29,367, classified as averb, pronounced /məˈtɪɹiəlaɪz/. materialized is at rank #32,911, tagged as anadj.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 62278, this pair ranks #89,417 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "materialize" and "materialized" be used interchangeably?
Remembering materialize vs materialized
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “materialize”; for an adjective, it's “materialized”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “materialize” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable