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
Etymology
Origin of traumatize
First recorded in 1900–05, traumatize is from the Greek word traumatízein to wound. See traumatic, -ize
Explanation
To traumatize someone is to make them feel a severe, lasting sense of shock and hurt. Being in a bad car accident can traumatize anyone. In medicine, to traumatize is to hurt or injure physically, but this verb is used more often in everyday speech to mean "harm psychologically or emotionally." War and violence traumatize many people around the world, and even something as seemingly harmless as a scary movie can traumatize a young child. Traumatize comes from trauma, "physical wound" in medical Latin and "a wound, hurt, or defeat" in Greek.
Vocabulary lists containing traumatize
"Mammoth Shakes and Monster Waves" Vocabulary from the informational text
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The Wednesday Wars
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myPerspectives 8.2
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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.
In this way, “The Sheep Detectives” recalls an earlier era of children’s movies that weren’t afraid to lightly traumatize their young audiences.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
On Monday, Minnesota school districts and educators sought an emergency order in federal court to stop immigration operations near public schools because of their potential to traumatize children.
From Salon • Mar. 2, 2026
“This country has done nothing but traumatize me in the last six months. Maybe I’ll just move to Spain.”
From Slate • Dec. 11, 2025
Advocates for homeless people say they can’t alleviate the crisis without more investment in affordable housing and services, and that camping bans and encampment sweeps unnecessarily traumatize homeless people.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 8, 2023
I mean, it might traumatize the baby slightly.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
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.
