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
Anyone who lived through that traumatic unrest knows just how different this feels.
—
Eric Roper, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026
In general, Sloan remarks that children are exposed to so much more than their parents were at their age, but for Black children, a higher level of traumatic day-to-day realities exist in ways that are mentally harming.
—Leslie D. Rose, Parents, 29 Jan. 2026
Destin Daniel Cretton's debut feature concerns a group of counselors (headed by Brie Larson's Grace) at a home for at-risk teens who must deal with their own traumatic pasts while shepherding their patients to a brighter future.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Raindance follows Fiona and Caitlyn Campbell, who have endured a tumultuous and traumatic life as children.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Eric Roper, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026
In general, Sloan remarks that children are exposed to so much more than their parents were at their age, but for Black children, a higher level of traumatic day-to-day realities exist in ways that are mentally harming.
—Leslie D. Rose, Parents, 29 Jan. 2026
Destin Daniel Cretton's debut feature concerns a group of counselors (headed by Brie Larson's Grace) at a home for at-risk teens who must deal with their own traumatic pasts while shepherding their patients to a brighter future.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Raindance follows Fiona and Caitlyn Campbell, who have endured a tumultuous and traumatic life as children.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for traumatic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traumatic
Adjective
-
Miami is now 27-26, still mired in play-in territory, entering today’s matinee at horrible Washington.—
Greg Cote
February 8,
Miami Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
-
A lot of things have happened with regard to that horrible situation the last couple of hours.—
Kathy Tulumello,
AZCentral.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Knee-assist devices and exoskeletons often use simple bearings placed near the knee, which can create painful misalignment because a real knee hinges but also shifts, rolls, and slides.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
-
After 35 rounds of radiation and painful robotic surgery on his tongue, Coulier can finally begin to recover from his cancer battle.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
America just passed the 50th anniversary of one of its truly terrible days — one that future historians can track as the beginning of the end of our democracy.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Busch was terrible defensively at third.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
At peak periods, the lookout has drawn thousands of people a day, overwhelming narrow access roads and limited parking facilities.—
Trista Kurniawan,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The bill passed through the legislature of a conservative state with overwhelming bipartisan support.—
Brad Quick,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
If the devoted nun resembles the raving patient, does that not justify locking them away, protecting ourselves from their unsettling power?—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
One of the many unsettling images to emerge from the recent ICE surge in Minneapolis was that of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, in his blue bunny hat, standing in the January cold with the hand of a federal officer gripping his Spider-Man backpack.—
A.O. Scott,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Bowing to popular demand, Fennell’s lackluster film doesn’t really bother with the stylistic flourishes of the source — this is really just the Cathy and Heathcliffe show, two awful people competing to destroy each other and threatening to take us to hell with them into the bargain.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
-
In a stroke of awful timing, Devonta’s grandfather also dies during filming.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Or if your hot flashes are unbearable, your provider might tinker with your dosage.—
Bonnie Vengrow,
Flow Space,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Winds will be out of the north to north-northwest at 5 to 10 mph, so wind-chills shouldn't be unbearable.—
Steven Sosna,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Keira, a junior, said current events have been disturbing.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Protesters gathered outside of an Inglewood daycare facility on Friday to express their outrage over a disturbing video that shows a teacher throwing her shoe at a 5-year-old student with autism in January.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Traumatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traumatic. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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