English Explanatory Dictionary

uniformitarianism

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way and at the same rates that they operate today, and sometimes in the same way everywhere in the universe as well.

Pronunciation

/juːnɪfɔːmɪˈtɛːɹɪənɪzm/

Word forms

uniformitarianism

Etymology

From uniformitarian + -ism, coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1837.

Antonyms

catastrophism convulsionism
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