An activator composition for the accelerated hardening of cyanoacrylate adhesives, wherein the activator comprises a member selected from the group consisting of: aromatic heterocyclic compounds having at least one N hetero atom in the ring(s) such as pyridines, quinolines and pyrimidines and substituted on the ring(s) with at least one electron - withdrawing group which decreases the base strength of the substituted compound compared to the corresponding unsubstituted compound, mixtures of any of the foregoing with each other, and/or with N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine, and mixtures of any of the foregoing and/or N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine with an organic compound containing the structural element, -N=C-S-S-, such as dibenzothiazyl disulfide. 6,6'dithiodinicotinic acid, 2,2'-dipyridyl disulfide, and bis(4-t-butyl-1-isopropyl-2-imidazolyl) disulfide. An activator composition may comprise a solution of one or more activators in a solvent mixture which comprises a volatile hydrocarbon and a cyclic ketone.