traumatize
Americanverb (used with object)
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Pathology. to injure (tissues) by force or by thermal, chemical, etc., agents.
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Psychiatry. to cause a trauma in (the mind).
to be traumatized by a childhood experience.
verb
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(tr) to wound or injure (the body)
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to subject or be subjected to mental trauma
Other Word Forms
- traumatization noun
- untraumatized adjective
Etymology
Origin of traumatize
First recorded in 1900–05, traumatize is from the Greek word traumatízein to wound. See traumatic, -ize
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.
As early as the 1960s, when many survivors were too traumatized to bear witness, he spoke to students and other groups about the Holocaust—at first in general, later in personal terms.
I thought high school was traumatizing enough, but I didn’t have to deal with anything close to what the teens in “Yellowjackets” have endured for three seasons.
From Los Angeles Times
“There’s a group that’s really so traumatized that they don’t know what to do. And there’s a group of seniors asking, ‘Do you want to rebuild at 80 years old?’”
From Los Angeles Times
“Even if your house remained, you’re still traumatized, and you’ve missed your community. Tonight was really special, to have a full house of people who want to feel connected to each again.”
From Los Angeles Times
Julie Valentine, a resident in the area, says she is still “traumatized.”
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.
