catastrophism

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catastrophism

Where it comes from

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

noun catastrophisms

countable, uncountable The doctrine that sudden catastrophes, rather than continuous change, cause the main features of the Earth's crust.
Opposite: uniformitarianism
countable, uncountable The doctrine that, in addition to the more gradual effects of evolution, huge catastrophic events shape the earth's flora and fauna by causing major die-offs which make way for the emergence of new organisms.
countable, uncountable The practice or tendency of catastrophizing, regarding bad things as catastrophic. A therapeutic programme based on pain education showed significant improvements regarding pain intensity, disability, catastrophism, depression, anxiety and health, with few positive results on anguish and cognition.

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MLA

"catastrophism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/catastrophism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

catastrophism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/catastrophism

Chicago

"catastrophism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/catastrophism.

BibTeX

@misc{catastrophism_2026,
  title = {catastrophism},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/catastrophism},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}