traumatic
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or produced by a trauma or wound.
-
adapted to the cure of wounds.
-
psychologically painful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of traumatic
First recorded in 1650–60; from Late Latin traumaticus, from Greek traumatikós “pertaining to wounds,” from traumat- (stem of traûma trauma ) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Something is traumatic if it's very upsetting, painful, or disturbing. The word is related to a Greek word meaning "wound," so you can think of traumatic as something involving a wound, either physical or mental. Your brother's reckless driving could make getting to school a traumatic experience in terms of your mental health. Traumatic can also describe a major physical injury, such as a traumatic brain injury. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a medical term used to describe the lasting and debilitating effects of something awful you've experienced, such as witnessing a disaster or suffering a major injury during combat.
Vocabulary lists containing traumatic
Vocabulary from "Stop Expecting Games to Build Empathy" by Julie Muncy
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Game Changer
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Tears of a Tiger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Goldsmith is now calling on others to be vaccinated against the illness, describing the experience as "the most traumatic thing we've had to go through".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Musk’s forthright, crusty dad Errol sounds almost proud that something was bullied out of his son, but the movie avoids filling out that traumatic childhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
“When I realized intelligence can be simulated, I let the idea of our uniqueness go, and it wasn’t as traumatic as I thought.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The successful results in human tissue strengthen the case for further investigation and could eventually lead to clinical trials in people with neurodegenerative diseases or traumatic brain injury.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Traumatized children from traumatic times in history have a lot of issues,” JB said sarcastically.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
