- catalyst, accelerator - (chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected
--1 is a kind of activator
Antonyms: anticatalyst
--1 has particulars: biocatalyst; enzyme; platinum blackDerived form: verb catalyze1 - catalyst - something that causes an important event to happen; "the invasion acted as a catalyst to unite the country"
--2 is a kind of causal agent, cause, causal agency