noun. undefined

noun. The doctrine that major changes in the earth's crust result from sudden catastrophes, such as the impact of a large meteor, rather than from gradual evolutionary processes.

noun. The doctrine that changes in the earth's fauna and flora result from major catastrophic events that cause the die-off of many organisms and are followed by the appearance of new types of organisms.

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

noun. The theoretical view of geological events which has as its essential basis the idea of a succession of catastrophes: the opposite of uniformitarianism. See catastrophe, 3, and cataclysm, 2.

noun. The doctrine that the geological changes in the earth's crust have been caused by the sudden action of violent physical causes; -- opposed to the doctrine of uniformism.

noun. The doctrine that sudden catastrophes, rather than continuous change, cause the main features of the Earth's crust

"For the idea of catastrophism had not concerned the destruction of species merely, but their introduction as well."

uniformism  

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