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
Patrick is newly sober after a traumatic childhood and a young adulthood marked by struggles with addiction.
—
Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
Qasem Hassan had personal experience with victims who were wary of discussing traumatic experiences.
—Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Masked figures roaming deserted streets became haunting in a freshly traumatic way.
—Bob Mondello, NPR, 9 June 2025
During a traumatic event, your body enters survival mode as a protective measure.
—Kathleen Ferraro, SELF, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
Qasem Hassan had personal experience with victims who were wary of discussing traumatic experiences.
—Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Masked figures roaming deserted streets became haunting in a freshly traumatic way.
—Bob Mondello, NPR, 9 June 2025
During a traumatic event, your body enters survival mode as a protective measure.
—Kathleen Ferraro, SELF, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traumatic
Adjective
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And in addition to the swing itself, his overall approach at the plate has always been horrible.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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With guidance from Benny’s older sister and her campus-legend boyfriend, Benny and Carmen juggle horrible hookups, flavored vodka, and fake IDs.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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Once Schaefer’s emotional moment was done, the rest of the conversations ranged from mildly awkward to borderline painful.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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Their venom, similar to a bee’s or wasp’s, results in a painful, itchy pustule or blister on the skin.—
Gareth McGrath,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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Rarely great, and consistently cringey in that NHL way we’re used to by now, but rarely terrible.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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Over and over, Victor argues for the emotional experience of suffering, that recovering from terrible trauma is genuinely complicated.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Oklahoma City, the overwhelming favorite coming into these finals, has been shoved up against a wall by the underdog Pacers.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
-
Indie Animation Finds Its Footing Despite the often overwhelming Hollywood presence, Annecy’s programming carved out space for independent, international and experimental work.—
Jamie Lang,
Variety,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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The other shoe dropped with an unsettling thud recently when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt openly gay-bashed in defense of her controversial boss.—
Louis Balsamo,
Baltimore Sun,
25 June 2025
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Some messages were sweet, others were steamy, and some were even unsettling.—
Cathy Hackl,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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What’s more, the Steelers failed to score a first-drive touchdown all season, were awful in the red zone, were awful on first down, and mostly awful in short yardage.—
Tribune Content Agency,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 June 2025
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Outcomes for what’s referred to as ‘children in care’ remain unacceptably awful.—
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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Meghan and Harry cited the unbearable intrusions of the British press and a lack of support from the palace as their reasons for their exit.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
24 June 2025
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As gig workers in the truest sense, musicians and many others in the industry run into the same roadblocks to decent treatment and insurance as the average American, but their profession amplifies the problems to unbearable volumes.—
Dan Reilly,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Content moderators are workers who remove disturbing content from social media—data which is often then used to train AI systems like ChatGPT or Facebook’s algorithms.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
19 June 2025
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These stories reveal a disturbing truth: AI can automate and amplify existing biases, leading to real-world injustice.—
Sajal Singh,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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