catalyst credence incentive proliferation surmise

catalyst

cat·a·lyst /ˈkætl-əst, ˈkætl-ɪst/noun [countable]

1. technical a substance that makes a chemical reaction happen more quickly without being changed itsefl

2. something or someone that causes an important change or event to happen

   1. catalyst for
      1. They hope his election will act as a catalyst for reform

credence

cre·dence /ˈkriːdəns/ noun [uncountable]

formal the acceptance of something as true

• give credence to something (=to believe or accept something as true)
  • I don't give any credence to these rumors.
• gain credence (=to become more widely accepted or believed)
  • His ideas quickly gained credence among economists.
• lend credence to something (=to make something more believable)
  • The DNA results lend credence to Hausmann's claims of innocence.

incentive

in·cen·tive AC /ɪnˈsentɪv/noun [uncountable and countable]

something that encourages you to work harder, start a new activity etc

• As an added incentive, there's a bottle of champagne for the best team.

• create/provide/give somebody an incentive

  • Awards provide an incentive for young people to improve their skills.

• incentive to do something

  • Farmers lack any incentive to manage their land organically.

• economic/financial/tex etc incentives

  • a recycling drive backed with financial incentives.

proliferation

pro·lif·e·ra·tion /prəˌlɪfəˈreɪʃən/ noun

1. [singular, uncountable] a sudden increase in the amount or number of something
   1. the proliferation of global media networks
2. [uncountable] the very fast growth of new parts of a living thing, such as cells

surmise

sur·mise /səˈmaɪz $ sər-/ verb [transitive]

formal to guess that something is true, using the information you know already

• surmise that

  • When he came in, he didn't look up, so she surmised that he was in a bad mood.

• surmise noun [uncountable and countable]

  • Charles was glad to have his surmise confirmed.

Reference

• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English