posttraumatic stress disorder

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nounPsychiatry.
  1. a mental disorder, as battle fatigue, occurring after a traumatic event outside the range of usual human experience, and characterized by symptoms such as reliving the event, reduced involvement with others, and manifestations of autonomic arousal such as hyperalertness and exaggerated startle response. Abbreviation: PTSD

Origin of posttraumatic stress disorder

1
First recorded in 1975–80

Words Nearby posttraumatic stress disorder

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British Dictionary definitions for post-traumatic stress disorder

post-traumatic stress disorder

noun
  1. a psychological condition, characterized by anxiety, withdrawal, and a proneness to physical illness, that may follow a traumatic experience: Abbreviation: PTSD

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for posttraumatic stress disorder

posttraumatic stress disorder

[ pōst′trô-mătĭk, -trou- ]


  1. A psychological disorder affecting individuals who have experienced or witnessed profoundly traumatic events, such as torture, murder, rape, or wartime combat, characterized by recurrent flashbacks of the traumatic event, nightmares, irritability, anxiety, fatigue, forgetfulness, and social withdrawal.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for posttraumatic stress disorder

posttraumatic stress disorder

A psychological disorder in which a person continues to respond with distress to a traumatic event long after that event has occurred. The affected person may reexperience the event in their thoughts or dreams and exhibit a heightened state of arousal characteristic of extreme stress. Combat and rape are two of the most common causes of this disorder.

Notes for posttraumatic stress disorder

PTSD was formalized as a disorder after the Vietnam War, when returning soldiers would often continue to show the signs of stress long after they had left the military.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.