trauma

American  

[trau-muh, traw-] / ˈtraʊ mə, ˈtrɔ- /

noun

• traumas,
  plural
• traumata
  plural

1. Pathology.

   1. a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident.

   2. the condition produced by this; traumatism.

2. Psychiatry.

   1. an experience that produces psychological injury or pain.

   2. the psychological injury so caused.

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trauma British  

/ ˈtrɔːmə /

noun

1. psychol a powerful shock that may have long-lasting effects

2. pathol any bodily injury or wound

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trauma Scientific  

/ trô′mə,trou′- /

1. Severe bodily injury, as from a gunshot wound or a motor vehicle accident.

2. Psychological or emotional injury caused by a deeply disturbing experience.

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trauma Cultural  

1. Wounds that result from sudden physical injury or violence.

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Usage

What does trauma mean? Trauma refers to a sudden, serious body injury or shock, as from violence or an accident, as in The car accident resulted in trauma to the arms and legs of the passenger. Trauma also refers to a serious psychological injury or emotional pain, as from being involved in a disturbing or horrible incident, as in The trauma caused by years of war still gives the soldier nightmares. Trauma is also used to refer to the specific incidents that cause both of these types of serious damage, as in The flood survivors never spoke of the trauma they experienced that day. Example: The victim suffered from internal bleeding caused by repeated trauma to the chest.

Discover More

The term is frequently used to describe an emotional shock that causes serious psychological damage.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• traumatic
  adjective
• traumatically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• traumas
  plural
• traumata
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of trauma

First recorded in 1685–95, trauma is from the Greek word traûma wound

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Explanation

A trauma is a shock to the body or spirit. A car accident can cause physical trauma like broken bones while losing your dog on a walk is an emotional trauma. When you think of trauma think of blunt force. Trauma tends to come on all at once and be quite serious. Someone who experiences trauma will have either a traumatic injury or traumatic distress. Try not to use this term lightly. If you say that having to wait twenty minutes for a burger was a trauma, people will rightly accuse you of drama.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trauma traumas traumata

He said his mind instantly went to the trauma of all of those impacted by what he witnessed, including the man's loved ones and everyone who was on the ride with him.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The researchers say the scale of the demographic collapse has important implications for understanding intergenerational trauma, persistent disadvantage, and the development of policies that better support Indigenous communities.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

I believe it helps enormously to know that this was a shared, collective trauma, and that many millions of people around the world also went through what you experienced.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Greene-Placentia told the Arizona outlet that her campaign promise of fighting for all constituents moved her to report her trauma.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

“Mother, I must attend to my bowels. They are revolting against the trauma of the last twenty-four hours.”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Others are putting their money on Antiguan-American author Jamaica Kincaid, whose work deals with exile, identity and the traumas inherited from colonialism, or on Chinese writer Can Xue.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

For some, it has worsened their traumas, it said.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

They had grandparents for the kids to stay with, so they did not go—as tens of thousands do each year—into state custody, with the many attendant traumas that entails.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

While these are in many respects traditional songs, this is music that hits you on a subliminal level, where a series of major traumas and minor victories fuse into a bleak worldview streaked with hope.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

There’s, like, ten different potential historical traumas that have messed us up enough that we can still talk to dead people, I guess.”

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

The principal causes of primary keratitis are traumata and infection from the conjunctiva.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 1 "Evangelical Church Conference" to "Fairbairn, Sir William" by Various

He received several head traumata and suffered from enuresis in his early life.

From The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Volume 10 by Various

We shall refer later on to those other exactly similar cases of cyclical depression which can nevertheless easily be traced back to mental traumata.

From Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego by Sigmund Freud

Absorption takes place from the inner surface of the uterus or from traumata in the genital canal.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

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Related Words

• agony
• anguish
• blow
• confusion
• damage
• injury
• ordeal
• shock
• strain
• stress
• suffering
• torture
• upheaval
• wound

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