traumatic
adjective
trau·mat·ic
| \ trə-ˈma-tik
, trȯ-, trau̇-\
, trȯ-, trau̇-\
Definition of traumatic
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