student asking question

What is the difference between "realise" and "realize"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Great question. There is no difference in meaning between the two. This is simply a difference of American and British spelling. Verbs in British English that can be spelled with ‘ise’ at the end are always spelled with ‘ize’ at the end in American English. In this case "realize" and "realise" Ex: apologize vs apologise Ex: organize vs organise Ex: recognize vs recognise This variance in spelling can also be seen in other words. A common one you will see is British English words ending in ‘our’ usually end in ‘or’ in American English. Ex: colour vs color Ex: flavour vs flavor Ex: humour vs humor Ex: labour vs labor Ex: neighbour vs neighbor

Popular Q&As

03/23

Complete the expression with a quiz!