To turn something into vapor or gas, usually by heating it, or to disappear suddenly.
From Latin 'vapor' (steam, mist) plus English suffix '-ize' (to make or become). The word entered English in the 1600s describing the physical transformation of liquids.
When water vaporizes, it doesn't disappear—it becomes an invisible gas that's still there, which is why humidity in the air is actually invisible water molecules that came from vaporized water.
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