English Reference

Word

visualize

Phoneticsvi·su·al·ize

/ˈvɪʒwəˌɫaɪz/

Definitions

01to imagine

B2

v. to form a clear picture of something in your mind.

v. to form a mental image of something; to envisage a future possibility or a complex concept.

“Try to visualize yourself succeeding in the interview to help calm your nerves.”

“The architect asked the clients to visualize how the natural light would move through the open-plan living space during the winter months.”

Usage

Often followed by a reflexive pronoun or a gerund phrase.

02medical imaging

C1 · Medicine

v. to use special equipment like an X-ray or ultrasound to see inside the body.

v. to make a hidden or internal body part visible using medical imaging techniques such as MRI, ultrasound, or endoscopy.

“The doctor used an ultrasound to visualize the baby's heartbeat.”

“Advanced contrast agents allow radiologists to visualize blood flow through the smallest vessels with unprecedented clarity.”

Technical

Usage

Transitive; the object is typically an organ, vessel, or biological process.

Synonyms

03data representation

B2 · Computing

v. to show information or data in a way that is easy to see, like a chart or map.

v. to represent data or information in a visual format, such as a graph, diagram, or map, to aid understanding.

“The software helps researchers visualize the results of their study using colorful charts.”

“By visualizing the demographic shifts over the last decade, the analysts were able to identify emerging trends that raw numbers had obscured.”

Academic

Synonyms

Real-World Examples

“For their study, the team used transgenic reporter mice , a powerful tool that allows researchers to visualize when and where DNA sequences activate gene expression in living tissues.”
Phys.org · 27 Aug 2026
“Scientists have long sought a way to visualize how organs develop over time.”
Phys.org · 21 Aug 2026

Etymology

From visual + -ize (suffix forming verbs denoting the doing or making of what is denoted by the adjectives or nouns to which it is attached).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

visualizationNounvisualizeVerb

Domain

Medicine

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference