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catastrophist

 - 3 dictionary results

ca⋅tas⋅tro⋅phism

  [kuh-tas-truh-fiz-uhm]
Use catastrophist in a Sentence
–noun Geology.
the doctrine that certain vast geological changes in the earth's history were caused by catastrophes rather than gradual evolutionary processes.
Origin:
1865–70; catastrophe + -ism

Related forms:
ca⋅tas⋅tro⋅phist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To catastrophist
ca·tas·tro·phism   (kə-tās'trə-fĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. Geology The doctrine that major changes in the earth's crust result from catastrophes rather than evolutionary processes.

  2. The prediction or expectation of cataclysmic upheaval, as in political or social developments.

ca·tas'tro·phist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

catastrophism [(kuh-tas-truh-fiz-uhm)]

A theory holding that changes in the Earth take place swiftly and irreversibly. (Contrast gradualism.)

Note: A belief in Noah's flood is one version of catastrophism.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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