accelerant

[ ak-sel-er-uhnt ]

noun

1. something that speeds up a process.
2. Chemistry. accelerator ( def 5 ).
3. a substance that accelerates the spread of fire or makes a fire more intense:

   Arson was suspected when police found accelerants at the scene of the fire.

accelerant

/ ækˈsɛlərənt /

noun

1. See accelerator
   chem another name for accelerator

accelerant

/ ăk-sĕl′ər-ənt /

1. A substance, such as a petroleum distillate, that is used as a catalyst, as in spreading an intentionally set fire.

Word History and Origins

Origin of accelerant¹

1915–20; < Latin accelerant- (stem of accelerāns ) hastening (present participle of accelerāre ). See accelerate

Word History and Origins

Origin of accelerant¹

C20: from Latin from accelerāns, present participle of accelerāre to go faster

Example Sentences

If you’re successful, it’s a huge accelerant, six to 18 months worth of time, and this is where we’re seeing a lot of regulatory success on our end.

From MIT Technology Review

That said, there’s little doubt that the pandemic was an accelerant.

From MIT Technology Review

It was like an accelerant on the embers of anti-Enlightenment thinking, encouraging a basic skepticism of science, even distrust of elemental structures of thought, such as cause and effect.

From Washington Post

The virus, as Scott Galloway put it, was an accelerant, allowing countless companies to innovate with an abandon they never would have thought possible.

From Fortune

While people across the industry have talked about coronavirus as an accelerant which sped media and marketing down paths they were just starting to tread, much of what happened during this year’s Cyber 5 was driven by highly unusual factors.

From Digiday

Thrown into the Middle East pyre, the Zionism-racism charge has been an accelerant, angering, alienating, polarizing both sides.

From The Daily Beast

Also in the apartment were glass jars containing what is believed to be accelerant, black gunpowder, and bullets.

From The Daily Beast

Police said Powell also attacked his sons with a hatchet or small ax, before igniting the accelerant-fueled blaze.

From The Daily Beast

It is believed that Burkhart used a fire accelerant similar to charcoal to start the fires.

From The Daily Beast