as in fuels
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 catalysts
Lila’s agents recently identified catalysts for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen that outperform the precious metals the industry currently relies on.
—
Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 10 June 2026
The contentious arrival of the venue was one of the catalysts in turning a neighborhood into a city that’s still expanding.
—Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
Industrial chemistry achieves speed, scale, and cost savings due to catalysts, enabling the production of everything from petrochemicals to drugs.
—Chris Lee, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Developed by the Catalysis Engineering Group at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the Solvothermal Liquefaction (STL) process uses a potent mix of solvent, heat, catalysts, and intense pressure to cook mixed plastic waste back into oil.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
Getting bored is never a good reason to sell a stock, but investments need catalysts.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 4 June 2026
And there are few catalysts on the horizon.
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
With few near-term catalysts and shares at a key technical level that often signals losses, market watchers are warning of more disappointment ahead.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2025
Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 10 June 2026
The contentious arrival of the venue was one of the catalysts in turning a neighborhood into a city that’s still expanding.
—Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
Industrial chemistry achieves speed, scale, and cost savings due to catalysts, enabling the production of everything from petrochemicals to drugs.
—Chris Lee, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Developed by the Catalysis Engineering Group at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the Solvothermal Liquefaction (STL) process uses a potent mix of solvent, heat, catalysts, and intense pressure to cook mixed plastic waste back into oil.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
Getting bored is never a good reason to sell a stock, but investments need catalysts.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 4 June 2026
And there are few catalysts on the horizon.
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
With few near-term catalysts and shares at a key technical level that often signals losses, market watchers are warning of more disappointment ahead.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catalysts
Noun
-
Attendees can learn about fire behavior prediction and apply this knowledge to the community’s unique topography, fuels, weather and fire safe challenges, including how to best protect homes from wildfires.—
Julie Gallant,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 June 2026
-
Reducing weight also reduces the pathways by which obesity fuels cancer, explains Bernard Fuemmeler, associate director of population science at the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and a co-author of the breast cancer study and the colorectal cancer study presented at ASCO.—
Lori Youmshajekian,
Scientific American,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Across movie studios, television networks and content production firms, AI creators CNBC spoke to mentioned using a wide variety of generative AI tools, with Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Kling, MiniMax, Seedance and Google’s AI Studio being frequently mentioned.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
11 June 2026
-
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Set during World War II, the drama examines the mechanisms of collaboration under the Vichy regime through the lens of a man whose ambition and moral weakness lead him to become complicit in the persecution and deportation of Jews.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
9 June 2026
-
Quantum bits or qubits are naturally prone to noise, where a change in temperature, electric or magnetic field can lead to the accumulation of errors, prompting the need to build robust error correction mechanisms.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Walz also is calling for the Legislature to re-pass a ban on binary triggers, modifications for semiautomatic rifles that fire a shot when the trigger is pulled and again while released, greatly boosting the weapon’s rate of fire.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The declaration, in honor of the billionaire philanthropist whose gifts boosted arts, science, education and cultural causes and more across Los Angeles for decades, marks a collaboration between the County of Los Angeles and the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2026
-
O’Brien said investigators ruled out other potential causes of the fire, including power lines, lightning and fireworks.—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
These discussions include possible revenue sharing between the data company and village along with tax incentives.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026
-
Those changes were designed to reduce incentives for excessive litigation, particularly in insurance claims.—
Contessa Brewer,
CNBC,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
The China Daily report notes that SAIC Motor’s MG brand has equipped its MG4 and MG4X electric vehicles with hybrid solid-liquid batteries developed in partnership with battery manufacturer Qingtao Energy.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
8 June 2026
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Protests outside the gates have shown activists pummeling cars, impeding the exits and in some cases getting hurled out of the way after collisions with vehicles attempting to speed away from the violent activists.—
Eric Mack,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
In a recent segment on the Radio-Canada investigative news program Enquête, former Quebec Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx expounded further on the reasons for the rejection.—
Luke Cyphers,
Sportico.com,
8 June 2026
-
Jones stayed diplomatic in her reasons for entering the 2021 season on a mission.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catalysts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catalysts. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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