Catalyst

//ˈkæt.ɪ.lɪst//

Origin: The chemical concept of catalysis was identified by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1835, but the word "catalyst" itself was not coined until 1902. Its figurative use, a catalyst for change, actually predates the specific chemical term, with English speakers borrowing from the Greek "katalysis" (dissolution) as early as the 1640s to mean something that hastens an outcome.

Tip: The power of "catalyst" lies in its implication that the change was latent, the conditions were ready, and the catalyst merely released what was already possible. Use it when you want to suggest that a situation was primed for transformation and only needed the right nudge. If the cause was the whole story, "cause" is the better word.

Words that Rhyme with "catalyst" (96 found)

Unknown96

twist list just mist fist gist pissed resist persist exist enlist assist anarchist grist recidivist cyst insist desist subsist wrist

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craigslist consist checklist blacklist midst dismissed alchemist schist oculist spiritualist cist tryst podiatrist missed frist coexist jihadist kist bolshevist liszt numismatist nativist herbalist preexist backlist epidemiologist proctologist wist nist anthologist kissed hissed delist reminisced quist neopositivist sechrist rehnquist rist rundquist lindquist jeanbaptiste lundquist blomquist holmquist bloomquist sundquist dahlquist youngquist sandquist ahlquist elmquist newquist baptiste crist granquist wahlquist enquist winquist hedquist ramqvist krist blomkvist chryst cronquist edquist ghrist jean-baptiste melquist runquist seaquist steenkiste stenquist stromquist sunkist vist

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.

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