catalysis

[ kuh-tal-uh-sis ]

noun,plural ca·tal·y·ses [kuh-tal-uh-seez]. /kəˈtæl əˌsiz/.
  1. Chemistry. the causing or accelerating of a chemical change by the addition of a catalyst.

  2. an action between two or more persons or forces, initiated by an agent that itself remains unaffected by the action: social catalyses occasioned by controversial writings.

Origin of catalysis

1
First recorded in 1645–55; from New Latin, from Greek katálȳsis “dissolution,” equivalent to katalȳ́ein “to dissolve” (kata- cata- + lȳ́ein “to loosen”) + -sis -sis

Other words from catalysis

  • cat·a·lyt·ic [kat-l-it-ik], /ˌkæt lˈɪt ɪk/, adjective, noun
  • cat·a·lyt·i·cal, adjective
  • cat·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·cat·a·lyt·ic, adjective, noun
  • an·ti·cat·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • non·cat·a·lyt·ic, adjective, noun
  • non·cat·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • self-ca·tal·y·sis, noun
  • sem·i·cat·a·lyt·ic, adjective

Words Nearby catalysis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use catalysis in a sentence

  • He demonstrated the processes of synthesis and auto-catalysis that enabled such small samples to be multiplied indefinitely.

    This World Is Taboo | Murray Leinster
  • The phenomenon known as "catalysis" is of common occurrence in both inorganic and organic chemistry.

    The Chemistry of Plant Life | Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
  • This latter consideration seems to be the factor of largest influence in colloidal catalysis.

    The Chemistry of Plant Life | Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
  • Like circulation or respiration, periodic catalysis has its poisons, and exhibits signs of fatigue, and of paralysis by cold.

    The Mechanism of Life | Stphane Leduc

British Dictionary definitions for catalysis

catalysis

/ (kəˈtælɪsɪs) /


nounplural -ses (-ˌsiːz)
  1. acceleration of a chemical reaction by the action of a catalyst

Origin of catalysis

1
C17: from New Latin, from Greek katalusis, from kataluein to dissolve

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012