punctuated equilibrium

1. 1.

   a theory of evolution holding that evolutionary change in the fossil record came in fits and starts rather than in a steady process of slow change

   Synonymstheory of punctuated equilibrium

   Broadertheory of evolution

Questions about punctuated equilibrium

What does punctuated equilibrium mean?

punctuated equilibrium means "a theory of evolution holding that evolutionary change in the fossil record came in fits and starts rather than in a steady process of slow change".

What is another word for punctuated equilibrium?

Close synonyms include theory of punctuated equilibrium. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is punctuated equilibrium a common word?

punctuated equilibrium is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.