 3 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
catalyst
noun
1: (chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a
chemical reaction without itself being affected [syn: {accelerator}]
[ant: {anticatalyst}]
2: something that causes an important event to happen; "the
invasion acted as a catalyst to unite the country"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
catalyst \catalyst\ n.
1. (Chem.) a substance that initiates or accelerates a
chemical reaction without itself being affected; as,
thousands of enzymes serve in concert as calaysts to
produce the sequence of reactions we call ''life''; the
industrial production of cheap ammonia depended on finding
a good catalyst.
[WordNet 1.5]
2. something that serves as a precipitating occasion for an
event; as, the invasion acted as a catalyst to unite the
country.
Note: A catalyst is never the main cause of an event, but may
serve to hasten events for which the underlying causes
are present prior to the appearance or occurrence of
the catalyst.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
3. something or someone that causes events to happen with
itself being changed.
[PJC]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
75 Moby Thesaurus words for "catalyst":
agent, agent provocateur, agitator, agitprop, alterant, alterative,
alterer, author, begetter, beginner, catalysis, catalytic agent,
causer, creator, decay, demagogue, dialysis, dissociation,
effector, engenderer, exciter, father, ferment, firebrand, fission,
fomenter, generator, goad, hydrolysis, hydrolyst, impetus, impulse,
incendiary, incentive, incitation, incitement, inciter, inflamer,
innovationist, innovator, inspirer, instigator, introducer, leaven,
maker, mischief-maker, modificator, modifier, mother, motivation,
mover, originator, parent, photolysis, precursor, prime mover,
primum mobile, producer, provocateur, provoker, rabble-rouser,
ringleader, rouser, seditionary, seditionist, sire, splitting,
spur, stimulant, thermolysis, transformer, transmogrifier,
troublemaker, urger, yeast
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