as in stimulus
something that arouses action or activity
Her expulsion from the university proved to be a catalyst for needed change.
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Recent Examples of catalyst
Despite being cleared to return during the game, Johnston had to visit the stadium’s X-ray room after the game, which could ultimately prove to be a catalyst for the Bills.
—
Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
In Ethiopia, English said, coffee is a catalyst for socialization.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 28 Sep. 2025
Moon was a catalyst for this movement, inspiring a new oral beauty subcategory.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025
Her death at Rome’s hands becomes the catalyst for his transformation from a grieving husband to a fearless champion of the arena — and ultimately the leader of a massive slave rebellion.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for catalyst
Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
In Ethiopia, English said, coffee is a catalyst for socialization.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 28 Sep. 2025
Moon was a catalyst for this movement, inspiring a new oral beauty subcategory.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025
Her death at Rome’s hands becomes the catalyst for his transformation from a grieving husband to a fearless champion of the arena — and ultimately the leader of a massive slave rebellion.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for catalyst
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catalyst
Noun
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To him, animal behavior was largely based on stimulus and response.—
Danny Robb,
JSTOR Daily,
1 Oct. 2025
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The receptors in your hands respond to myriad stimuli-like pressures—vibrations in sync with 15 different families of neurons.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This means a car owner should account not only for upfront purchase price, but for the full suite of financial costs, like repairs, maintenance and fuel.—
Greg Iacurci,
CNBC,
3 Oct. 2025
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Alejandra's arms are full of fuel canisters.—
Teri Schultz,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Having a familiar presence like Joan at Westside Hospital is a helpful tool for Amy, who’s still rebuilding her life after the season 1 car crash that left her with a traumatic brain injury, wiping her memories of the previous eight years.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
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Movies That Don’t Exist, a native digital format created and directed by Hernández, where AI becomes an experimental tool that amplifies creativity and connects with audiences through his YouTube channel, with over 3 million subscribers.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For a town that lives by horses and dies by the river, every drizzle is now a trigger.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
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Sometimes the trigger was academic research exposing the limits of certain techniques.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women, behind lung cancer, although death rates have been decreasing over the last three decades.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
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Nobody wants to be seen by voters as the cause of a shutdown that will leave many federal workers without pay and some services closed.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Blood is always poised and ready to clot, because the body sees this as a life-saving mechanism.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
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Connecting with others who share your struggle is one way to deal with the very real mental health side effects while also learning about other treatments and coping mechanisms that can help make your journey a little easier.—
Maggie Ryan,
Flow Space,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The impetus for Redeux Style was to teach people how to create beautiful moments in their lives to be more sustainable.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
26 Sep. 2025
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There was enough of an impetus, there was enough energy there.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Electricity jumping into the air in the form of a spark or arc at points of contact can melt metal parts of the electrical infrastructure that can fall to the ground and ignite wildfires.—
Chiara Eisner,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
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Can Johnson provide the magic spark again?—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Catalyst.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catalyst. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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