# uniformitarianism

> English word · Noun · IPA /juːnɪfɔːmɪˈtɛːɹɪənɪzm/

## Definitions
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.

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

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/uniformitarianism