as in horrible
causing great and lasting pain or distress
The family struggled to cope with the traumatic experience of losing their home.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of traumatic
It can be traced back to the traumatic Season 1 night, when the once-vulnerable child lost his eye due to bullying.
—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
Examination of the body revealed no evidence of traumatic injury, including no bruising, lacerations, gunshot wounds, stab wounds, blunt force trauma, strangulation or other external injuries, Fisher said in the statement.
—
Kc Baker,
PEOPLE,
22 June 2026
The song is about growing up with a father who carried the weight of a traumatic childhood and has suffered with addiction and illness.
—
Steve Hochman,
SPIN,
22 June 2026
In this timely and personal film, Hardwicke wanted to capture the lives of skateboarders, artists and musicians who strive to live in freedom while confronting their often-traumatic pasts amid a streetscape sometimes marked by violence, drugs and mental illness.
—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
Examination of the body revealed no evidence of traumatic injury, including no bruising, lacerations, gunshot wounds, stab wounds, blunt force trauma, strangulation or other external injuries, Fisher said in the statement.
—
Kc Baker,
PEOPLE,
22 June 2026
The song is about growing up with a father who carried the weight of a traumatic childhood and has suffered with addiction and illness.
—
Steve Hochman,
SPIN,
22 June 2026
In this timely and personal film, Hardwicke wanted to capture the lives of skateboarders, artists and musicians who strive to live in freedom while confronting their often-traumatic pasts amid a streetscape sometimes marked by violence, drugs and mental illness.
—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traumatic
Adjective
-
Iran’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad World Cup got a lot better Sunday.
-
What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.
Adjective
-
However, Ukraine’s successes have highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and change the course of the conflict while Moscow’s advances recently have ground to a near halt.
-
California’s already-high electricity rates have increased far faster than inflation, threaten progress on climate change and pose painful affordability burdens on residents and businesses, the Berkeley report said.
Adjective
-
The production quality was terrible.
-
But in May of 1943, a terrible fire burned his studio to the ground.
Adjective
-
Not to mention, the flattering waist tie and subtle side slit elevate your look ever so slightly without overwhelming, a fail-safe formula for chic European dressing.
-
Lacks overwhelming physicality or highest level explosiveness, and didn't add any notable muscle mass between his freshman and sophomore seasons (175 pounds at 2025 combine and 176 at 2026 combine).
Adjective
-
The New York Times reported that multiple women who once dated Platner described the Maine oysterman’s behavior as intimidating and unsettling.
-
This move, by a native of the attention economy, signals a growing trend of users actively disengaging, unsettling consumer investors.
Adjective
-
Messi shook off his awful spot kick to deliver another match-winning masterclass against Austria and become the competition’s all-time top scorer in the process.
-
But the Windows handheld software experience on the Claw is just awful compared to the straightforwardness of SteamOS on the Steam Deck.
Adjective
-
More hot days ahead The heat index, a combination of regular temperature plus the humidity that makes South Florida summers so unbearable, has been high all week.
-
Summer is inarguably tank top season given that soaring temperatures make the thought of having anything beyond a sliver of fabric feel unbearable.
Adjective
-
That normalization may be the most disturbing aspect of all.
-
Although the project is unlikely to affect Jackson’s popularity much, some of the revelations uncovered during the investigation are disturbing.
Cite this Entry
“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
