uniformitarianism /ˌjuːnɪˌfɔːmɪˈtɛərɪəˌnɪzəm/

• 1.  

  N（名词） 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 均变论