uniformitarianism

American  

[yoo-nuh-fawrm-i-tair-ee-uhn-iz-uhm] / ˌyu nəˌfɔrm ɪˈtɛər i ənˌɪz əm /

noun

1. the theory that geological or biological changes on earth have been caused by gradual, ongoing processes or local events, rather than by large-scale or global catastrophicevents such as a worldwide flood. Contrasts with catastrophism.

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uniformitarianism British  

/ ˌjuːnɪˌfɔːmɪˈtɛərɪəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. the concept that the earth's surface was shaped in the past by gradual processes, such as erosion, and by small sudden changes, such as earthquakes, of the type acting today rather than by the sudden divine acts, such as the flood survived by Noah (Genesis 6–8), demanded by the doctrine of catastrophism

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uniformitarianism Scientific  

/ yo̅o̅′nə-fôr′mĭ-târ′ē-ə-nĭz′əm /

1. The theory that all geologic phenomena may be explained as the result of existing forces having operated uniformly from the origin of the Earth to the present time.

2. See Note at Lyell

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Example Sentences

Uniformitarianism suggests that the laws of nature have remained uniform since the beginning of time and that the eternal processes of erosion and deposition have shaped every feature of Earth.

From Scientific American • Aug. 9, 2019

There is no discrepancy between Uniformitarianism and evolution.

From The Antiquity of Man by Lyell, Charles, Sir

I shall call one of them Catastrophism, another Uniformitarianism, the third Evolutionism; and I shall try briefly to sketch the characters of each, that you may say whether the classification is, or is not, exhaustive.

From Lay Sermons, Addresses and Reviews by Huxley, Thomas Henry

Now Uniformitarianism, as we have seen, tends to ignore geological speculation in this sense altogether.

From Discourses Biological and Geological Essays by Huxley, Thomas Henry

I shall call one of them Catastrophisim another Uniformitarianism, the third Evolutionism; and I shall try briefly to sketch the characters of each, that you may say whether the classification is, or is not, exhaustive.

From Aphorisms and Reflections from the Works of T. H. Huxley by Huxley, T. H.