catalyst

Study(14)

UK /ˈkæt.ɪ.lɪst/ US /ˈkæt.ə.lɪst/

noun 5

Collocations

ADJ.

chemical, effective, personal, stronger, used

The personal tragedy became an effective catalyst for her to finally pursue her dreams.

VERB + CATALYST

became, examine, functions, working

The economic crisis became a catalyst for major reforms in the banking industry.

CATALYST + NOUN

efficiency, peace, sour-mash, system, whiskey

The new software became a catalyst for efficiency across our entire department.

PREP.

in, with, without

The new manager acted as a catalyst for change in the struggling department.

Definitions

noun

A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.

Enzymes, the catalysts of biological systems, are remarkable molecular devices that determine the pattern of chemical transformations.

Something that encourages progress or change.

Economic development and integration are working as a catalyst for peace.

It was a morning baptized by my first cup of coffee, freshly brewed over a gravel-bar fire, while they celebrated with the stronger catalyst of sour-mash whiskey in their fishing-vest cups.

An inciting incident that sets the successive conflict into motion.

The current view by both Labour and Conservative politicians is that the state of the UK railway is unsustainable, and the pandemic acted as a catalyst in exposing its weaknesses.

A catalytic converter.

An object that facilitates the casting of a spell (such as a magic wand).

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — (chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chem

accelerator

Antonyms

anticatalyst

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

Enzymes, the catalysts of biological systems, are remarkable molecular devices that determine the pattern of chemical transformations.

Wiktionary

Economic development and integration are working as a catalyst for peace.

Wiktionary

It was a morning baptized by my first cup of coffee, freshly brewed over a gravel-bar fire, while they celebrated with the stronger catalyst of sour-mash whiskey in their fishing-vest cups.

Wiktionary

It would be difficult to improve the device without an effective catalyst.

Tatoeba · #324453

First, I'd like to examine the catalyst used in this experiment.

Tatoeba · #2119775

An enzyme is a protein that functions as a catalyst for a chemical reaction.

Tatoeba · #8767494

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, catalyst is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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