accelerant

/əkˈsel.ə.rənt/ (bre, ipa) · /ekˈsel.ɚ.ənt/ (ame, ipa) · /ik-ˈse-lə-rənt ak-/ (ame, mw)

accelerant — noun

  • accelerantsingular
  • accelerantsplural

1. a chemical substance that someone deliberately adds to a fire to make it burn an

1.名詞C1
釋義

a chemical substance that someone deliberately adds to a fire to make it burn and spread much faster, or a substance that speeds up a chemical or industrial process.

例句

Firefighters found traces of an accelerant near the back door of the burned shop.

collocation: traces of an accelerant

The arson investigator used a specially trained dog to sniff out accelerants at the crime scene.

collocation: sniff out accelerants — detecting accelerants at fire scenes

同義詞
  • fuel

    more general — any material that burns; an accelerant is a type of fuel used specifically to start or speed up a fire.

  • catalyst

    broader scientific term — a catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed, while an accelerant is consumed as it burns.

  • kindling

    refers to small, dry pieces of material used to start a fire, not a chemical substance that speeds up burning.

文法句型

use + accelerant

detect + accelerant

act as + an + accelerant

用法筆記

Commonly used in fire investigation and forensic contexts. When used more broadly for chemical processes, the synonym 'catalyst' is more frequent in everyday language, though the two terms are not interchangeable.

常見錯誤

❌He poured gasoline as a catalyst on the wood pile.
✅He poured gasoline as an accelerant on the wood pile.
💡a catalyst changes the speed of a reaction without being consumed; an accelerant is a substance that itself burns and spreads fire.
❌The doctor prescribed an accelerant for the infection.
✅The doctor prescribed a treatment to speed up recovery.
💡accelerant is not used in medical contexts for healing; use 'treatment' or 'therapy.'