catalysis

[ kuh-tal-uh-sis ]

/ kəˈtæl ə sɪs /

Save This Word!

noun, plural ca·tal·y·ses

[kuh-tal-uh-seez]. /kəˈtæl əˌsiz/.

Chemistry. the causing or accelerating of a chemical change by the addition of a catalyst.

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.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of catalysis

1645–55; <New Latin <Greek katálȳsis dissolution, equivalent to katalȳ́(ein) 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, nouncat·a·lyt·i·cal, adjectivecat·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverban·ti·cat·a·lyt·ic, adjective, noun

an·ti·cat·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·cat·a·lyt·ic, adjective, nounnon·cat·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverbself-ca·tal·y·sis, nounsem·i·cat·a·lyt·ic, adjective

Words nearby catalysis

Catalonia, Catalonian, catalpa, catalufa, catalyse, catalysis, catalyst, catalytic, catalytic converter, catalytic cracker, catalytic cracking

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use catalysis in a sentence

We need a catalysis so that positive evolution can take place in a matter of years rather than decades or not at all.
E.O. Wilson Saw the World in a Wholly New Way - Issue 112: Inspiration|David Sloan Wilson|January 5, 2022|Nautilus
The two laureates were rewarded for independently developing a third type of catalysis, which builds upon small organic molecules.
Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to duo who made a tool to build molecules in an environmentally friendly way|Frances Stead Sellers|October 6, 2021|Washington Post
In 2019, she and some colleagues were working with zeolites, porous materials vital for applications from industrial catalysis to air purification.
Fast forward|Cara Giaimo, SM ’15|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
These days, Korley works closely with experts on topics as wide-ranging as catalysis, enzyme engineering, and manufacturing.
Creating new polymers, and upcycling the old ones|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review

We could regard what is called catalysis solely as an agent in the service of entelechy.
The Science and Philosophy of the Organism|Hans Driesch
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) /

noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)

acceleration of a chemical reaction by the action of a catalyst

Word Origin for catalysis

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