catalyst
A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.
Other meanings
Something that encourages progress or change.
“Economic development and integration are working as a catalyst for peace.”
An inciting incident that sets the successive conflict into motion.
Synonyms
- accelerator
A kind of
- activator
Kinds of catalyst
- enzyme
- platinum black
Related words
- catalysis
- catalytic
- Adams's catalyst
- Grubbs' catalyst
- Lindlar catalyst
- phase-transfer catalyst
- stereospecific catalyst
- triphase catalyst
- Vandenberg catalyst
- Ziegler catalyst
- Ziegler-Natta catalyst
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “catalyst” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.