Trauma Definition & Meaning

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    • Synonyms trauma American [trou-muh, traw-] / ˈtraʊ mə, ˈtrɔ- /

    noun

    plural

    traumas, traumata

    1. Pathology.

      1. a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident.

      2. the condition produced by this; traumatism.

    2. Psychiatry.

      1. an experience that produces psychological injury or pain.

      2. the psychological injury so caused.

    trauma British / ˈtrɔːmə, trɔːˈmætɪk /

    noun

    1. psychol a powerful shock that may have long-lasting effects

    2. pathol any bodily injury or wound

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 trauma Scientific / trô′mə,trou′- /

    1. Severe bodily injury, as from a gunshot wound or a motor vehicle accident.

    2. Psychological or emotional injury caused by a deeply disturbing experience.

    trauma Cultural

    1. Wounds that result from sudden physical injury or violence.

    Usage

    What does trauma mean? Trauma refers to a sudden, serious body injury or shock, as from violence or an accident, as in The car accident resulted in trauma to the arms and legs of the passenger.Trauma also refers to a serious psychological injury or emotional pain, as from being involved in a disturbing or horrible incident, as in The trauma caused by years of war still gives the soldier nightmares. Trauma is also used to refer to the specific incidents that cause both of these types of serious damage, as in The flood survivors never spoke of the trauma they experienced that day. Example: The victim suffered from internal bleeding caused by repeated trauma to the chest.

    Discover More

    The term is frequently used to describe an emotional shock that causes serious psychological damage.

    Other Word Forms

    • traumatic adjective
    • traumatically adverb

    Etymology

    Origin of trauma

    First recorded in 1685–95, trauma is from the Greek word traûma wound

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    "I cannot begin to describe the anguish and trauma of the events of Boxing Day 2025," he said in a tribute released by Gloucestershire Constabulary.

    From BBC

    We don’t have a real sense of how these characters are going to process the aftermath of what they’ve experienced, or how they’ll handle the trauma.

    From Los Angeles Times

    She warns trauma has an impact that lasts long into the future.

    From BBC

    Belle Lin: Right, there’s a lot of remaining trauma from the days of cloud lock-in where if you were in the Google ecosystem or the Amazon ecosystem or the Microsoft ecosystem, you were stuck there.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    Syrians are only now starting to make sense of the trauma and paranoia caused by the system a year after the regime’s collapse.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    Related Words

    • agony
    • anguish
    • blow
    • confusion
    • damage
    • injury
    • ordeal
    • shock
    • strain
    • stress
    • suffering
    • torture
    • upheaval
    • wound

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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