catastrophism

noun

ca·​tas·​tro·​phism kə-ˈta-strə-ˌfi-zəm 

: a geologic doctrine that changes in the earth's crust have in the past been brought about suddenly by physical forces operating in ways that cannot be observed today compare uniformitarianism

catastrophist

kə-ˈta-strə-fist 

noun

Examples of catastrophism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But uniformitarianism turned out to be a rigid and incomplete doctrine, one that blinded generations of geologists to the possibility that the planet was also shaped by exceptional and dramatic events, a counter-theory known as catastrophism. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024

Climate catastrophism and its vendetta against fossil fuels represent nothing short of civilizational suicide -- and China knows it. —Meg Hansen, National Review, 7 July 2024

Kyle Paoletta discusses how the pendulum of climate coverage swings between catastrophism and heavy-handed reassurance, and has a chilling effect on climate resilience. —Violet Lucca, Harper’s Magazine , 20 Mar. 2023

Max: My instinct in situations like this is always to avoid catastrophism, but pretty much every day, Elon Musk has woken up and done something stupider and worse than the day before. —The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 14 Dec. 2022

The result was an abrupt psychological shift from catastrophism to optimism, and from despair to self-confidence. —Harold James, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for catastrophism

• pleomorphism
• sophism