as in horrible
causing great and lasting pain or distress
The family struggled to cope with the traumatic experience of losing their home.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of traumatic
Things that remind someone of their own abuse or other traumatic memories, for instance, are triggers.
—
Charles Trepany, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026
Passengers Lindsey Parke, 19, and Alexa Duryea, 19, suffered traumatic injuries and were both pronounced dead at the scene.
—Carolyn Gusoff, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026
Halaska and her attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pedro Garcia, told Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring that traumatic incidents from her past affected her perception of the events.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
In the film, Sylvia develops dissociative identity disorder after witnessing her father’s murder and surviving a traumatic assault.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Charles Trepany, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026
Passengers Lindsey Parke, 19, and Alexa Duryea, 19, suffered traumatic injuries and were both pronounced dead at the scene.
—Carolyn Gusoff, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026
Halaska and her attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pedro Garcia, told Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring that traumatic incidents from her past affected her perception of the events.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
In the film, Sylvia develops dissociative identity disorder after witnessing her father’s murder and surviving a traumatic assault.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traumatic
Adjective
-
This is going to be a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day.—
Nathan Rott,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
-
In another case, a 10-year-old girl contracted horrible lesions on 10 percent of her body — mostly on her legs — after contact with giant hogweed.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
My ila facial was pure joy—no painful extraction or aggravating scrubs here.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
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Both seasons were painfully funny (often just painful), but the humor sometimes got lost as time has proven even its most over-the-top bits eerily correct.—
Jennifer Silverman,
Rolling Stone,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But Kardashian celebrated its terrible reviews, and the series was renewed for a second season.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
26 Mar. 2026
-
One hundred fifteen years later, a memorial to the workers who died reveals itself as a reminder that workers’ rights were purchased at a terrible cost, and that the lives lost there still ask something of us.—
Christina Ray Stanton,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In its final form, though, the change — 8 to 10 feet closer in the corners with the gaps tapering toward a still 410-foot centerfield — certainly doesn’t appear overwhelming.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
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In improving to 35-3, South Carolina’s 6-foot-3 All-American Joyce Edwards scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass in overwhelming TCU.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The unsolved nature of the Bradley case is unsettling, to say the least.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Mar. 2026
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Skeptics point out oral exams can be unsettling for students who are shy or have serious anxiety, but clarifying the format ahead of time and starting with softball questions can help, says Carolyn Aslan, who leads Cornell’s oral exam training.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Fortune,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The timing is awful, as Rodon was scheduled to make a rehab start with the Yankees' Double-A affiliate.—
Logan Brown,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The Broncos were awful on the ground.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Our lawsuit argues that the President doesn’t have the power to impose these tariffs, which create an unnecessary and possibly unbearable financial burden for independent companies like ours to bear.—
Ori Zohar,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
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Downtown residents have been complaining to the city commission that the traffic and noise are unbearable and want the volume turned down.—
Steve Maugeri,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Most disturbing, the largest net loss of IRS filers continues to be among young adults.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
29 Mar. 2026
-
So, yes, Reingold’s story identified some disturbing failures.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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