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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Recent Examples of traumatic
And lo and behold, yes, almost every single patient who had pain that couldn’t be treated with opioids ended up having some sort of very traumatic thing that had happened.
—
Torie Bosch, STAT, 2 May 2026
In Caveat, Isaac (Johnny French) and Olga (Leila Sykes) are both recovering from traumatic events that have left them impaired — him an amnesiac, her intermittently catatonic.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 1 May 2026
After her disappearance tore his family apart, Cope was determined to rebuild his life but, twenty years later, the traumatic event returns to haunt him after the body of a man who was believed to have been murdered alongside Camille unexpectedly turns up.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026
While intervention is sometimes necessary to ensure a child’s safety, removing a child from their home can be deeply traumatic.
—Jewel Photopolus, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Torie Bosch, STAT, 2 May 2026
In Caveat, Isaac (Johnny French) and Olga (Leila Sykes) are both recovering from traumatic events that have left them impaired — him an amnesiac, her intermittently catatonic.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 1 May 2026
After her disappearance tore his family apart, Cope was determined to rebuild his life but, twenty years later, the traumatic event returns to haunt him after the body of a man who was believed to have been murdered alongside Camille unexpectedly turns up.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026
While intervention is sometimes necessary to ensure a child’s safety, removing a child from their home can be deeply traumatic.
—Jewel Photopolus, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traumatic
Adjective
-
Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
3 May 2026
-
Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest Again, this is horrible scheduling on a Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, three days before Forest go to Villa for the second leg of that Europa League semi-final.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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All this may explain why the war doesn’t linger in British memory as a painful loss.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
But Saturday’s loss will hurt for a while, with Messi delivering a message to the team following the painful result.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
Now, nearly two years later, the school finds itself in a terrible spot, as accusations of serious misconduct arise and an investigation by the athletic department heats up.—
Trey Wallace OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
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And, betting on terrible outcomes doesn't signify what the better actually wants to happen.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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With overwhelming bipartisan support, Indiana enacted one of the most comprehensive state-level national security laws in the country.—
Joe Gebbia Sr,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The overwhelming consensus among economists is that the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, will hold rates steady.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Freida has a rare ability to draw readers – and viewers – into an unsettling sense of comfort, before brilliantly pulling the rug from under them.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
7 May 2026
-
Freida has a rare ability to draw readers — and viewers — into an unsettling sense of comfort, before brilliantly pulling the rug from under them.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
And there was going to be an awful lot of emotional resonance and relatability with today’s generation of young women with Mary Bennet, more so than there would be [with Elizabeth Bennet.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
7 May 2026
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The mother-haver at Forster’s school could never trust in the safety of his awful secret.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
Somehow their proximity made seeking help from them unbearable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 May 2026
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But Jefferson found the experience of sitting there while lesser writers messed with his prose unbearable.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
Chronister said content on Abugharbieh’s phone had been erased, but a forensic examination revealed disturbing searches in the days before Bristy and Limon went missing.—
Mike Schneider,
Sun Sentinel,
1 May 2026
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The series is riveting and disturbing, culminating with Bateman’s arrest and eventual conviction.—
Maira Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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