'anticatalytic' is formed in English by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek anti- meaning 'against') + 'catalytic' (from 'catalysis'), and the adverbial suffix '-ally' produces 'anticatalytically'.

'catalysis' originates from Greek 'katalusis' (κατάλυσις) meaning 'dissolution' or 'loosening down'; the adjective 'catalytic' arose in modern scientific English in the 19th century to describe action relating to catalysis; 'anticatalytic' was later formed by adding 'anti-' to denote opposition, and then 'anticatalytically' formed by adding '-ally'.

Initially 'catalysis' referred to a process of decomposition or loosening; over time 'catalytic' came to mean 'relating to a catalyst that accelerates a reaction', and 'anticatalytic'/ 'anticatalytically' now denote opposing or inhibiting such catalytic effects.