traumatic
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or produced by a trauma or wound.
-
adapted to the cure of wounds.
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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.
They also help kids who’ve been exposed to community violence or other traumatic events, or who are grieving a traumatic loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
He didn’t recognize what those traumatic experiences he’d tried to bury did to him, not until he started to talk about them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
She continued: "Too many survivors are expected to revisit the most traumatic experiences of their lives without the level of support they truly need."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
They are often the places where the legacies of once-powerful empires are at their most traumatic or unresolved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
It must be quite traumatic, thought Butler dispassionately, to lose an advantage that you’ve held for centuries.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Definitions 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.
