uniformitarianism

adjective

1. supporting, conforming to, or derived from a theory or doctrine about uniformity, especially on the subject of geology.
2. Geology. of or relating to the thesis that processes that operated in the remote geological past are not different from those observed now.

noun

3. a person who accepts or supports a uniformitarian theory.

noun

1. the concept that the earth’s surface was shaped in the past by gradual processes, such as erosion, and by small sudden changes, such as earthquakes, of the type acting today rather than by the sudden divine acts, such as the flood survived by Noah (Genesis 6–8), demanded by the doctrine of catastrophism

adjective

1. of or relating to uniformitarianism
2. of, characterized by, or conforming to uniformity

noun

3. a supporter of a theory of uniformity or of uniformitarianism

1. The theory that all geologic phenomena may be explained as the result of existing forces having operated uniformly from the origin of the Earth to the present time. See Note at Lyell.