traumatic

adjective

trau·​mat·​ic trə-ˈma-tik 

trȯ-,

trau̇-

1

: psychologically or emotionally stressful in a way that can lead to serious mental and emotional problems

The report … revealed that the onset of bulimic behavior tends to be associated with voluntary dieting and with traumatic events such as the loss of a loved one.

—Ralph Heussner

He's been open and frank about his traumatic childhood scarred by violence and domestic abuse.

—Stephen Milton

broadly : causing distress or anxiety

The traumatic experience of the Wall Street crash and the long depression of the 1930s has gradually faded from memory …

—Jack Revell

The arrival of mass tourism in a previously unspoilt area … was certainly traumatic.

—Graham Robb

2

medical : relating to, being, or caused by a sudden, severe, often life-threatening injury to the body

… the lone medical centers in the Triad to treat victims of traumatic injuries such as life-threatening car wrecks or shootings.

—Pat Kimbrough

Three years ago, she was in a traumatic car crash that shattered her pelvis, and caused numerous other injuries.

—Brad Gillman

There have been reports of shrapnel causing a traumatic fistula between the right coronary artery and the right atrium.

—Matthias Eikermann et al.

also : involving or causing tissue damage or physical stress

The artery-dilating procedure, which uses a balloon or other device guided to the restricted artery by a cardiac catheter, is less invasive and traumatic than coronary artery bypass surgery.

—Andrew Skolnick

Open-heart surgery has become all but routine in recent years, although still physically traumatic.

—Ralph T. King, Jr.

see also chronic traumatic encephalopathy, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury

traumatically

trə-ˈma-ti-k(ə-)lē 

trȯ-

trau̇-

adverb

Examples of traumatic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The victims described traumatic experiences that left some with feelings of shame as well as physical side effects, ranging from pain and bleeding to serious infections. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025

The extraordinary media interest in the case, which gripped Australia for much of the 10-week trial, had been traumatic for the family, Erin Patterson's estranged husband Simon Patterson - who was invited to the lunch but declined - said at the same hearing. —Alasdair Pal, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025

Maddie is talented, warm, funny and kind but also anxious, plagued with low self-esteem cultivated by a traumatic childhood. —Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025

But back in ’95, only about a year and a half had passed since the traumatic, era-defining suicide of her husband, Kurt Cobain. —Justin Ravitz, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing traumatic

• chronic traumatic encephalopathy
• post-traumatic
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• traumatic brain injury

Rhymes for traumatic

• asthmatic
• chromatic
• climatic
• dogmatic
• dramatic
• ecstatic
• emphatic
• erratic
• eustatic
• fanatic
• hepatic
• lymphatic

Medical Definition

traumatic

adjective

trau·​mat·​ic trə-ˈmat-ik, trȯ-, trau̇- 

: of, relating to, resulting from, or causing a trauma

cases of traumatic rupture

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

a traumatic experience

traumatically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb