A substance that slows down or prevents a chemical reaction from occurring; the opposite of a catalyst.
From anti- (against) + catalyst (a substance that speeds up reactions, from Greek katalysis). Names substances that decelerate chemical reactions rather than accelerate them.
While catalysts get the attention in chemistry, anticatalysts are equally important—flame retardants are anticatalysts that slow combustion, potentially saving your life in a fire by giving people time to escape!
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