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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 The report from the OCME reportedly indicated that Gittings was brought to Hartford Hospital via Life Star in hemorrhagic shock with obvious traumatic injuries to the left lower extremity including a near amputation. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 13 Mar. 2025 The coroner listed Hawkins’ cause of death as traumatic blunt force injuries and the manner of death as accidental. — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 12 Mar. 2025 Bernthal and Affleck reprise their roles as the estranged siblings whose traumatic childhood somehow led them into adjacent lines of business. — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2025 Though Ascher treats this as a happy ending, his real intent throughout the film seems to be focused on putting us through the traumatic saga Pistorius underwent throughout much of his formative years. — Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 8 Mar. 2025 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
  • This is really happening and these horrible things are happening and that this person doesn't want to be happening.
    — Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2025
  • The tech giant had a horrible week, off nearly 11% in the period despite Friday’s relief bounce.
    — Pia Singh, CNBC, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • Like witnessing a bad car crash, Ye’s (formerly known as Kanye West) latest episodes of hate speech and misogyny have been painful to watch and continue to elicit shock and dismay from every corner of the entertainment world.
    — David Renzer, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025
  • While that decline was painful for COST holders, the stock bottomed in mid-May, five months before the S & P 500 ultimately found its own low in October 2022.
    — Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2025
Definition of painful
Adjective
  • The boys now harbor a terrible secret of their own.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
  • But the point is, every team has a few terrible losses in the course of a season.
    — Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 22 Mar. 2025
Definition of terrible
Adjective
  • With Unrivaled set to crown its first champion come Monday night, the league has been overwhelming success according to Collier, who helped co-found the league alongside fellow superstar Breanna Stewart.
    — C. Isaiah Smalls II, Miami Herald, 16 Mar. 2025
  • This was an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2025
Definition of overwhelming
Adjective
  • Given that feeling competent in one’s work is one of the three basic psychological human needs, this may be unsettling for some.
    — Ellen Choi, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
  • The thought of spending months on end in the sweltering heat is very unsettling for me.
    — Sherry Kuehl, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of unsettling
Adjective
  • To have hate at such a young age for another student is awful.
    — Kellie Love, Hartford Courant, 21 Mar. 2025
  • But against lefties, while hitting from the righty batter's box, Cabrera has been downright awful, with a .562 OPS and anemic .209 batting average in 187 career plate appearances.
    — Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are fearless in Robert Eggers’ black-and-white nightmare about two New England lighthouse keepers who learn that nothing is scarier than being trapped with someone unbearable.
    — Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2025
  • If your mattress has become unbearable to sleep on, a quality mattress topper is a cost-effective way to give your bed an additional layer of comfort.
    — Toni Sutton, People.com, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of unbearable
Adjective
  • While no human-affecting viruses have been revived yet, the fact that ancient microbes can persist in a viable state raises a disturbing possibility: what else is hidden in the deep freeze, waiting to wake up?
    — Scott Travers, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
  • The possibility of losing Miami Beach's only art house cinema is disturbing to Tabsch, a filmmaker whose 2018 documentary The Last Resort, was about Miami Beach's Jewish community in the 1970s.
    — Mandalit del Barco, NPR, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of disturbing

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Cite this Entry

“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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