catastrophist means of, having, or being a theory that explains a situation by positing one or more catastrophic events, as opposed to gradual changes. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “catastrophist” is a great word
CATASTROPHIST — [Adjective, Noun] Pertaining to, or one who advocates for, the doctrine that Earth's history is shaped by sudden, violent events. From catastrophe (from Ancient Greek καταστροφή (katastrophḗ), 'overturning, sudden turn, ruin') + the English suffix -ist (denoting an adherent of a doctrine). Unlike gradualist (which insists on the patient accretion of tiny changes) or uniformitarian (which sees only the slow, observable present writ large), the catastrophist perceives history as a punctuated record of trauma. It is the vision of continents cracking in a day, of life reset by a rock from the void, and of civilizations erased by a single deluge—a worldview that finds its logic not in the tick of the clock but in the sound of its shattering.
Etymology
From catastrophe + -ist.
adj
- Of, having, or being a theory that explains a situation by positing one or more catastrophic events, as opposed to gradual changes.“But there is an incredible disconnect between what tourists see, what foreigners living in France see, what French people living abroad see, what this recently naturalised français sees, and the hyperbolic, catastrophist nature of France’s own domestic discourse about itself (that is, the French people convinced their country has gone to hell).”
noun
- A catastrophist person: a person who subscribes to a catastrophist theory.