catalyze

especially British, cat·a·lyse

[kat-l-ahyz]

verb (used with object)

catalyzed, catalyzing 

1. to act upon by catalysis.

catalyze

1. To modify, especially to increase, the rate of a chemical reaction through the action of a catalyst.

Other Word Forms

• catalyzer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of catalyze¹

First recorded in 1885–90; cataly(sis) + (-i)ze

Example Sentences

It catalyzed a shift in my life’s work, and a decision to dedicate the rest of my career to improving it.

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His images reward the curious viewer—one willing to be catalyzed by Mr. Winter’s visual storytelling.

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The war in Ukraine has catalyzed a dramatic rerating of defense stocks in Europe.

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To catalyze an agreement, Washington is counting on Russia’s desire for revived economic relations with the West and Ukraine’s need for reconstruction funds.

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Adobe released a machine learning platform in 2016, but its pivot to the AI trade was catalyzed by the launch of Firefly, a family of generative AI models, in 2023.

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Related Words

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• marshal 
• organize 
• prepare