Unrealized describes something that hasn't happened yet or hasn't been achieved, even though it exists as a possibility or potential. When you have an unrealized dream of becoming a marine biologist, you haven't made it happen yet, but the dream is still there, waiting. When a talented artist has unrealized potential, they have the ability to create amazing work, but they haven't fully developed or shown it yet.

The word often carries a sense of something waiting to become real. A chess player might see an unrealized threat on the board: a dangerous move their opponent could make but hasn't made yet. An inventor with an unrealized idea has a brilliant concept in mind but hasn't built the actual device.

In finance, unrealized gains or losses refer to investments that have increased or decreased in value on paper, but the investor hasn't sold them yet to lock in those changes. Your grandmother might have unrealized gains in a stock that's worth more than she paid, but until she sells it, that profit remains unrealized.

The word shows that potential and reality are different things. Having talent is wonderful, but unrealized talent stays invisible until it is developed. Dreams remain unrealized until someone takes steps to pursue them.