traumatic

adjective

trau·​mat·​ic trə-ˈma-tik 

trȯ-,

trau̇-

1

: psychologically or emotionally stressful in a way that can lead to serious mental and emotional problems

The report … revealed that the onset of bulimic behavior tends to be associated with voluntary dieting and with traumatic events such as the loss of a loved one.

—Ralph Heussner

He's been open and frank about his traumatic childhood scarred by violence and domestic abuse.

—Stephen Milton

broadly : causing distress or anxiety

The traumatic experience of the Wall Street crash and the long depression of the 1930s has gradually faded from memory …

—Jack Revell

The arrival of mass tourism in a previously unspoilt area … was certainly traumatic.

—Graham Robb

2

medical : relating to, being, or caused by a sudden, severe, often life-threatening injury to the body

… the lone medical centers in the Triad to treat victims of traumatic injuries such as life-threatening car wrecks or shootings.

—Pat Kimbrough

Three years ago, she was in a traumatic car crash that shattered her pelvis, and caused numerous other injuries.

—Brad Gillman

There have been reports of shrapnel causing a traumatic fistula between the right coronary artery and the right atrium.

—Matthias Eikermann et al.

also : involving or causing tissue damage or physical stress

The artery-dilating procedure, which uses a balloon or other device guided to the restricted artery by a cardiac catheter, is less invasive and traumatic than coronary artery bypass surgery.

—Andrew Skolnick

Open-heart surgery has become all but routine in recent years, although still physically traumatic.

—Ralph T. King, Jr.

see also chronic traumatic encephalopathy, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury

traumatically

trə-ˈma-ti-k(ə-)lē 

trȯ-

trau̇-

adverb

Examples of traumatic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The physical ailment is a new one for Stabler, who's survived numerous shootings throughout his years on the job and, most recently, a traumatic car accident at the start of this fifth season. —Alex Ross, People.com, 21 May 2025

Brown plays Medwin Harris, a gregarious, larger-than-life type who traveled the world after a traumatic childhood as a Black refugee in Nova Scotia and takes Wash on as his protégé. —Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 20 May 2025

In more extreme causes, early parental loss, military deployment of a parent, witnessing domestic abuse or other traumatic events could cause the habit to return too. —Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 19 May 2025

Actor/screenwriter/director Eva Victor performs a tightrope walk with their acclaimed Sundance debut that recounts the ways that New England professor Agnes (Victor) copes and moves through the aftermath of a traumatic event. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 17 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing traumatic

• chronic traumatic encephalopathy
• post-traumatic
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• traumatic brain injury

Rhymes for traumatic

• asthmatic
• chromatic
• climatic
• dogmatic
• dramatic
• ecstatic
• emphatic
• erratic
• eustatic
• fanatic
• hepatic
• lymphatic

Medical Definition

traumatic

adjective

trau·​mat·​ic trə-ˈmat-ik, trȯ-, trau̇- 

: of, relating to, resulting from, or causing a trauma

cases of traumatic rupture

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

a traumatic experience

traumatically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb