stratification
Division into levels
Stratification is the arrangement of something into distinct layers or levels.
In geology, rock forms through stratification as sediments accumulate over time.
Social stratification describes the hierarchical division of society into classes based on wealth, status, or power: Economic stratification has widened in recent decades.
The verb stratify works the same way: The lake water stratifies by temperature.
Grouping by shared traits
- casteInherited social division
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
- mobilityCapacity for movement
- statusOne's relative position
hierarchy · privilege · poverty · wealth · elite · underclass · bourgeoisie · proletariat
Materials covering a mattress
- laminationBonding sheets together
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- compactionReducing volume through pressure
- siltWaterborne earth particles
sandstone · shale · limestone · cross-bedding · turbidity · clastic · alluvium · fluvial
Rapid temperature-change layer
- temperatureMeasured heat intensity
- gradientRate of change across space
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
- mixingCombining into one mass
turnover · limnology · lake · reservoir · ocean · seasonal · vertical · water column
Horizontal arranged levels
- levelsHeights or ranked stages
- echelonsLevels within a hierarchy
- rankingOrdered position assignment
- pyramidPointed polyhedral solid
ladder · gradation · pecking order · chain of command · structure · order · scale · dominance
Solid stone underground
- sedimentaryFormed from deposited material
- outcropSurfacing native stone
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
- tectonicsStudy of crustal deformation
geochronology · paleontology · igneous · metamorphic · erosion · mineralogy · faults · volcanism
class
Grouping by shared traits
- casteInherited social division
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
- mobilityCapacity for movement
status · hierarchy · privilege · poverty · wealth · elite · underclass · bourgeoisie · proletariat · aristocracy
bedding
Materials covering a mattress
- laminationBonding sheets together
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- compactionReducing volume through pressure
silt · sandstone · shale · limestone · cross-bedding · turbidity · clastic · alluvium · fluvial · marine
thermocline
Rapid temperature-change layer
- temperatureMeasured heat intensity
- gradientRate of change across space
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
mixing · turnover · limnology · lake · reservoir · ocean · seasonal · vertical · water column · stability
tiers
Horizontal arranged levels
pyramid · ladder · gradation · pecking order · chain of command · structure · order · scale · dominance · precedence
bedrock
Solid stone underground
- sedimentaryFormed from deposited material
- outcropSurfacing native stone
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
tectonics · geochronology · paleontology · igneous · metamorphic · erosion · mineralogy · faults · volcanism · crust
- organizingorganizing, categorizing, grouping, structuring, classifying
- rainforestrainforest, jungle, tropical, tropics, canopy
- experimentsexperiment, experiments, test, tests, trials
- hierarchiestier, tiers, level, levels, rank
- hierarchyrank, ranked, authority, command, tiered
- separationseparate, sieving, straining, divide, filtration
stratificationhomogeneity
State of sameness throughout
uniformity · homogenization · evenness · undifferentiation · consistency
stratificationequality
Same status for all
egalitarianism · classlessness · social equality · equalization · classless society
stratificationmixing
Combining into one mass
blending · integration · amalgamation · fusion · unification
- ocean stratificationSea divided by density
- lake stratificationTemperature-based water layering
- social stratificationSociety's hierarchical layering