traumatic

adjective

Definition of traumaticnext
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 Zhang and Xuan were first arrested in May 2025 after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby, according to Arcadia police. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Research into the neurobiology of trauma shows that partial memories are normal because the brain may struggle to process information during a traumatic experience, Palumbo said. — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026 But when a traumatic encounter sends Tonya spiraling back into addiction—and back into the dangerous orbit of her drug-dealing ex-husband, Ronny (Alexander)—her fragile progress begins to unravel. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026 These are women who had to sign away their right to speak about the most traumatic event of their lives in order to get a diploma or even a small financial settlement. — Gretchen Carlson, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traumatic
  1. horrible
  2. painful
  3. terrible
  4. overwhelming
  5. unsettling
  6. awful
  7. unbearable
  8. disturbing
Adjective
  • Hill is a free agent after a horrible injury suffered last season.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Ashley Flynn’s sister, Kayla Keyt, said during her victim statement that her family could not overcome their sense of shock and despair after learning that Flynn betrayed them in such a violent and horrible way.
    — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • After the Great Depression, school districts revisited the idea during the energy crisis of the 1970s, following the 1973 Arab oil embargo and the painful years of stagflation that followed.
    — Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Continue reading … -- IN OTHER NEWS HIDDEN ILLNESS — Country star reveals the painful symptom that led to cancer diagnosis.
    — , FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of painful
Adjective
  • Platforms prefill a name, email and phone number so a user can submit in one tap without leaving the feed, which is wonderful for a consumer promotion and terrible for a six-figure investment.
    — Jonathan Durante, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Saddled with terrible reviews and negative word-of-mouth, Tom Cruise‘s absurdist dark comedy has cratered at the box office with $8 million in North America and $20 million globally in its first weekend of release.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of terrible
Adjective
  • Barrera has the overwhelming advantage in independent expenditures — spending by outside groups on behalf of political candidates.
    — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Therefore, Perriello needs overwhelming margins in Charlottesville while cutting into Republican advantages elsewhere.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of overwhelming
Adjective
  • The bill is coming due just as Volkswagen faces an unsettling commercial fact.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The whole unsettling scene was made far worse by Stephens’ reaction in the immediate aftermath of the hit.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of unsettling
Adjective
  • He was held back by something else, a feeling that some awful truth about his familiar, beloved world was now being revealed to him.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • His death was already sudden and awful, and the call was jarring and unexpected.
    — Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • Another independent doctor subsequently concluded that the child's suffering was clear and unbearable, and that the requirements for termination of life under the nation's rules had been met.
    — Inaya Folarin Iman, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Her unbearable grief drove her to drop out without warning, without notice, nothing.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of unbearable
Adjective
  • Brian had written down the recipe, and, in his back shed, Michael, with the eventual assistance of Kasey, sets about following it into strange and disturbing territory.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Artificial’s timeliness in that regard is striking, even disturbing.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of disturbing

Browse Nearby Words

trashy
traumatic
traumatically
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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