Collocations for realization - noun

full
dawning, growing
gradual, slow
belated
sudden
startling
awful, grim, horrible, painful, stark, terrible
sobering

come to
He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.

come (to sb), dawn (on sb), hit sb, sink in, strike sb
The realization that the murderer must have been a close friend came as a shock.
We saw the terrible realization of what she'd done dawn on her face.