catastrophism /kəˈtæstrəˌfɪzəm/

• 1. 

  N an old doctrine, now discarded, that the earth was created and has subsequently been shaped by sudden divine acts which have no logical connection with each other rather than by gradual evolutionary processes 灾变说; 一旧学说，现已被弃。该学说认为地球的诞生和改变是由突然而无逻辑关系的神圣行为造成的，而不是一系列渐进进化过程