accelerant
noun
ac·cel·er·ant ik-ˈse-lə-rənt 
ak-
: a substance used to accelerate a process (such as the spreading of a fire)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web As some have noted, the pandemic has been an accelerant to trends, and more people are successfully accessing their health care and other resources through apps and telemedicine. 
Jim Woodward, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2021 Locomotives typically hold up to 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel that could act as an accelerant for a fire started by the railroad mine. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 2 Aug. 2022 But passion turns out to be a great accelerant for your career. Tracy Brower, Forbes, 4 July 2022 Some point to the Ukraine crisis and the ramifications of the United States’ ban on Russian oil as a more recent accelerant for rising inflation rates. Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 16 Mar. 2022 So it’s this interesting, also, just information accelerant that started in a really formative period for the company, and really the internet at large. Wired Staff, Wired, 21 July 2022 The Ukraine war seems to represent both an inflation accelerant and a convenient political scapegoat for the inflation that politicians and central bankers are creating and that should persist well after the Ukraine war ends. Adam Strauss, Forbes, 30 Apr. 2022 Online retail hastened matters, and covid proved to be an extraordinary accelerant. Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2021 In pretrial testimony earlier this year, a real estate investor who manages the partnership that owns the apartments claimed the arsonist used an accelerant to ignite the inferno. Peggy O’hare, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Nov. 2021 See More
Jim Woodward, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2021 Locomotives typically hold up to 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel that could act as an accelerant for a fire started by the railroad mine. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 2 Aug. 2022 But passion turns out to be a great accelerant for your career. Tracy Brower, Forbes, 4 July 2022 Some point to the Ukraine crisis and the ramifications of the United States’ ban on Russian oil as a more recent accelerant for rising inflation rates. Daniel Strauss, The New Republic, 16 Mar. 2022 So it’s this interesting, also, just information accelerant that started in a really formative period for the company, and really the internet at large. Wired Staff, Wired, 21 July 2022 The Ukraine war seems to represent both an inflation accelerant and a convenient political scapegoat for the inflation that politicians and central bankers are creating and that should persist well after the Ukraine war ends. Adam Strauss, Forbes, 30 Apr. 2022 Online retail hastened matters, and covid proved to be an extraordinary accelerant. Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2021 In pretrial testimony earlier this year, a real estate investor who manages the partnership that owns the apartments claimed the arsonist used an accelerant to ignite the inferno. Peggy O’hare, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Nov. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
acceler(ate) + -ant entry 1
First Known Use
1824, in the meaning defined above