trauma
Americannoun
plural
traumas, traumata-
Pathology.
-
a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident.
-
the condition produced by this; traumatism.
-
-
Psychiatry.
-
an experience that produces psychological injury or pain.
-
the psychological injury so caused.
-
noun
-
psychol a powerful shock that may have long-lasting effects
-
pathol any bodily injury or wound
-
Severe bodily injury, as from a gunshot wound or a motor vehicle accident.
-
Psychological or emotional injury caused by a deeply disturbing experience.
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
- traumatic adjective
- traumatically adverb
Etymology
Origin of trauma
First recorded in 1685–95, trauma is from the Greek word traûma wound
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.
The plan states a school would need to give him a safe place to go when feeling overwhelmed and access to highly-skilled staff trained in trauma.
From BBC
Because Black people have been through so much trauma before we get into family trauma, just as a people.
From Los Angeles Times
"When you have so much trauma to one area of your body that there's too much blood and it gets stuck and it basically crushes everything," Vonn said in her post.
From Barron's
It’s not “Up”-level gut-wrenching, but the scenes establishing the heartbroken boy’s lingering trauma hit pretty hard.
From Los Angeles Times
I don’t want to go out there and say it’s because of Targaryen trauma and everything he’s been through.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
