catastrophe theory

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noun Mathematics.

a theory, based on topology, for studying discontinuous processes and the mathematical models that describe them.

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Origin of catastrophe theory

First recorded in 1970–75

Words nearby catastrophe theory

catarrh, catarrhal fever, catarrhine, catastasis, catastrophe, catastrophe theory, catastrophic, catastrophism, catastrophize, catatonia, catatonic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use catastrophe theory in a sentence

But at the heart of this “Truther” conspiracy theory is the idea that “someone” wants to destroy Bill Cosby.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Is it sort of evidence of the Gladwellian 10,000 hours theory?
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But a 2011 study of genetic evidence from 30 ethnic groups in India disproved this theory.
The Himalayas’ Hidden Aryans|Nina Strochlic|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The director left then; he could see the impending catastrophe.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But, in theory, that started to change last week with the first meeting of SIX, the State Innovation Exchange.
The Left’s Answer to ALEC|Ben Jacobs|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the year of misery, of agony and suffering in general he had endured, he had settled upon one theory.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
To others the fierce desire for social justice obliterates all fear of a general catastrophe.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Dean Swift was indeed a misanthrope by theory, however he may have made exception to private life.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
The other is the new theory: that the Bible is the work of many men whom God had inspired to speak or write the truth.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
The evolution theory alleges that they were evolved, slowly, by natural processes out of previously existing matter.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford

British Dictionary definitions for catastrophe theory

catastrophe theory

noun

a mathematical theory that classifies surfaces according to their form
the popular application of this theory to the explanation of abruptly changing phenomena, as by the discontinuity of a line on the topmost fold of a folded surface

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012