Sample Sentences for
catalyst
grouped by contextual meaning
(editor-reviewed)

catalyst as in:  catalyst for reform

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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand served as the catalyst for the First World War.
catalyst = something that causes or speeds an important event
Show 3 more with this contextual meaning
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    Well, the theft of the hammer was a good catalyst.  (source)
    catalyst = trigger that sets events in motion
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    One of them, the infamous Rudy, would soon become Liesel's best friend, and later, her partner and sometime catalyst in crime.  (source)
    catalyst = someone that causes or speeds an important event
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    Thomas had an overwhelming feeling that all of these changes were a spur, a catalyst for the endgame.  (source)
    catalyst = something that causes or speeds action or change
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Show 10 more with 5 word variations
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    Mark not only fits well in any social group, he's a catalyst to make the group work better.  (source)
    catalyst = someone that causes change
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    The spewing flame had its effect; heat and fire were catalysts.†  (source)
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    It had catalyzed a revelation inside their home.†  (source)
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    He stood silent at the bedside, his fingers lingering on the patient's pulse long after he had registered the heart rate, as if he needed the touch of skin, the thready signal in the radial artery to catalyze his decision.†  (source)
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    I stopped eating in the house, even on the weekends, because without Clara's catalyzing presence there was no reason why I should put up with my children's bickering.†  (source)
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    I was still in shock, or maybe in suspension, waiting for the catalyst.  (source)
    catalyst = trigger that sets events in motion
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    It was true; enzymes acted as catalysts for all chemical reactions, by providing a surface for two molecules to come together and react upon.†  (source)
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    Hema's calligraphy exercises catalyzed an unstoppable ink flow in Shiva's pen, but his medium was still paper bags, napkins, and end pages of books.†  (source)
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    They were its first occupants, and it would be some time before all this aseptic newness had been converted into a warm, human home, The children, doubtless, would catalyze the process rather effectively.†  (source)
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    The drought's a catalyst, it's not the problem.  (source)
    catalyst = something that speeds action or change
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catalyst as in:  chemical catalyst

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In the beaker, a drop of iodine acted as a catalyst, decomposing the peroxide much faster.
catalyst = a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being permanently changed itself
Show 3 more with this contextual meaning
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    Then, I'll release hydrazine, very slowly, over the iridium catalyst, to turn it into N2 and H2.  (source)
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    For some reason, the gentle touch of his father's hand felt like it was burning through him like a potent catalyst that was initiating a chemical reaction inside Mal'akh's body.  (source)
    catalyst = a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being permanently affected
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    All you have to do is run it over a catalyst (which I can extract from the MDV engine) and it will turn into nitrogen and hydrogen.  (source)
    catalyst = a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being permanently changed itself
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