1. Plural of catastrophist; scientists or theorists who believe that major geological changes and extinctions were caused by sudden, violent events rather than gradual processes.
Usage: historical geology term; often contrasted with uniformitarians

Examples

• Early catastrophists argued that Noah's flood explained the fossil record.
• The debate between catastrophists and uniformitarians shaped 19th-century geology.
• Modern catastrophists point to asteroid impacts as explanations for mass extinctions.
• Some catastrophists believed that sudden upheavals reshaped the Earth's surface.
• The theory of catastrophists was eventually replaced by more nuanced geological models.