Standard Lemma guide

uniformitarianism

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • UK: /juːnɪfɔːmɪˈtɛːɹɪənɪzm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way and at the same rates that they operate today, and sometimes in the same way everywhere in the universe as well.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: catastrophism, convulsionism

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: униформизъм (uniformizǎm) — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today
  • Finnish: uniformitarianismi — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today
  • French: uniformitarisme — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today
  • French: actualisme — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today
  • German: Aktualismus — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today
  • Irish: aonfhoirmeachas — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today
  • Italian: attualismo — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today
  • Polish: aktualizm — scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way that they operate today