Words / C1

m-uh-TEERR-ee-uh-lyz/məˈtɪəriəlaɪz/

To materialise (US materialize) is to become real, or to appear: the funding never materialised, a figure materialised in the doorway. Happen and appear are everyday; emerge is a cousin. Material (already in the dictionary) is “stuff” or “relevant”. Do not say a legally required invigilator “failed to materialise” as if it were weather.

Meaning

To become real, or to appear (British spelling).

Examples

• “The spare marker never materialised, so the sitting was split.”
• “Appear is everyday. Happen is wider. Materialise often marks a hoped-for thing that does or does not arrive. British spelling keeps -ise. A cancelled shift is a decision, not fog.”

Good to know

Come into being / turn up. Everyday: appear / happen. British: materialise. A rota gap is a decision, not weather.

Near in meaning

appear

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