TRAUMATIC Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

traumatic

adjective

Definition of traumatic

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

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 As a result of the crash, the driver of the Infiniti was pinned between the two vehicles and suffered traumatic injuries. — Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026 On the mantel, nestling between a brace of glamorous Francis Picabia portraits, is Kahlo's traumatic My Birth. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 5 July 2026 To navigate the darkness, Liu leaned heavily into both sports psychology and traditional therapy, including EMDR, a technique that helps people process traumatic experiences. — Douglas Robson, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 Sights and sounds may trigger anxiety, which can be associated with past traumatic experiences. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for traumatic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for traumatic

Adjective

And obviously, slavery was a terrible thing, and that was horrible.

— Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
Horton, who married Rickman in 2012 in a private ceremony after more than 40 years together, also told the outlet that the diagnosis had been a horrible shock to them both.

— Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026

Definition of horrible

Adjective

Biomimicked medical glue, inspired by the slime of a common garden slug (Arion subfuscus), can bond to bloody tissue and holds great promise for surgical applications and the treatment of painful lesions.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 July 2026
For the past two decades, since I’d endured a painful divorce, the New York Times daily puzzle has been my source of comfort.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026

Definition of painful

Adjective

With all the terrible news of layoffs and that the games industry is in a dire state, some people online have said a crash is the only way to fix things.

— Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
With Te Fiti gone, a terrible darkness began slowly taking hold of the islands and their surrounding waters.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026

Definition of terrible

Adjective

Still, Donovan said that the accomplishment of passing bipartisan housing affordability legislation with an overwhelming majority shouldn’t be downplayed.

— Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Instead, future conflicts may require large numbers of lower-cost drones capable of overwhelming enemy defenses through sheer volume.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 11 July 2026

Definition of overwhelming

Adjective

After all, Against Nature is all about the unsettling atmosphere and the senses.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 4 July 2026
Seeking a fresh start, Ellie moves into a house on Delaney Row hoping to leave her troubled past behind, only to discover that her new home is steeped in dark secrets and unsettling mysteries.

— Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 3 July 2026

Definition of unsettling

Adjective

One year Pippa Middleton faced the awful shame of having to sit in a normal seat after showing up late.

— Nick Miller, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Sugar is at the forensic lab with the corpse of a man who looks an awful lot like Ji Moon but isn’t Ji Moon (courtesy of Shea Whigham as Tom Flybjerg).

— Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 June 2026

Definition of awful

Adjective

The combination of relentless heat and floods of human traffic can make conditions downright unbearable.

— Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
After going back in and rescuing the family’s Australian sheperd, Benji, Meraz had enough time to move the family’s cars out of the garage before the heat became unbearable.

— Noah Daly July 11, Idaho Statesman, 11 July 2026

Definition of unbearable

Adjective

And so the disturbing part of the dissent in the mail ballot case was that this was about a very narrow issue, whether ballots that are postmarked by Election Day can be counted if they're received in some period after.

— Tonya Mosley, NPR, 8 July 2026
The film is a modern take on creature horror movies told from the perspective of a young boy who slowly begins to discover his beloved parents are hiding a disturbing secret about his mother’s true nature.

— Justin Kroll, Deadline, 7 July 2026

Definition of disturbing

Browse Nearby Words

trashy

traumatic

traumatically

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“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of traumatic

adjective

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