From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtraumatictrau‧mat‧ic /trɔːˈmætɪk $ trɒː-/ ●○○ adjective UPSETa traumatic experience is so shocking and upsetting that it affects you for a long time His son’s death was the most traumatic event in Stan’s life. —traumatically /-kli/ adverb
Examples from the Corpus
traumatic• For him, that means there is a place for everything, no matter how trivial or traumatic.• He knew that in the wake of Steve Jobs's traumatic departure, a sense of play was missing in Cupertino.• Nixon's forced resignation, in other words, was a deeply traumatic episode in the history of the United States.• Learning to swim was the most traumatic experience of my childhood.• Susan, who had to endure a traumatic eye operation, seemed at first unable to learn colors and numbers.• My parents' divorce was very traumatic for me.• Len's slow and painful death was traumatic for the entire family.• Many of these states have experienced traumatic nationality conflicts, and few of these conflicts have been permanently resolved.• Diana arrived at Sandringham that weekend having just been through a most traumatic period.• This was usually a person undergoing great emotional strain, such as a girl experiencing a particularly traumatic puberty. 