uniformitarian
1
8.7
- adjective
- /ˌjunɪfɔrˈmɪtɛriən/
- Specialized
:
uniformitarista
- The concept of uniformitarian geology suggests that the Earth's features were shaped by consistent processes over millions of years.
- uniformitarian geology
- uniformitarian view
Examples
-
Cosmic impacts represent just one example of a general shift in thinking that has made the idea of catastrophes respectable in science, in contrast to an older uniformitarian attitude that had dominated the earth sciences for the previous 150 years.
Academic text (1990) -
As Lyell's catastrophist contemporary Adam Sedgwick complained in his 1831 presidential address to the Geological Society, uniformitarian law
Academic text (1990) -
Consistency regarding natural regulations will be the foundation of uniformitarian belief, extensively common even in contemporary society.
Blog text (31) -
If you visit a creek and observe the burbling water lapping against the banks, it is easy to appreciate the uniformitarian view.
Academic text (1990) -
Emmons's views upon geology as a whole appear to place him within a uniformitarian stance, and one specifically retaining a decided propensity towards actualism.
Academic text (2018) -
Most of these geologists would also say that the book had a significant influence on their own journey from old-earth uniformitarian geology to young-earth creationism.
Blog text (8) -
Geologists applied the uniformitarian principle over billions of years, which is a nearly infinite stretch of time compared with the durations being considered when uniformitarianism was being developed.
Academic text (1990) -
The existence of divergence casts doubt on the uniformitarian assumption that underpins a number of important tree-ring-based (dendroclimatic) reconstructions.
Blog text (17) -
A long tradition of literary criticism has read evolution into the biological passages of In Memoriam and the uniformitarian geology of Lyell into Tennyson's lines about the earth and its historical changes.
Academic text (1992) -
Such changing interpretations of Genesis result from Young's elevation of current majority views in geology and archaeology (which are controlled by naturalistic, uniformitarian assumptions) above the authority of the Word of God.
Blog text (8)
Synonyms
75
3.0
Happening slowly and steadily, not suddenly
1
7.2
Supporting slow, step-by-step change rather than sudden action
To change in small steps over time
Supporting slow change over time as an explanation for development
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Uniformitarian comes from the root uniform ('same' or 'one form') plus a word ending that describes a belief, so it paints a picture of nature using the 'same' slow processes over time. That's why a uniformitarian idea means changes happen gradually and consistently rather than by sudden events.