trauma
n. C / Un. a deep emotional wound caused by a very stressful or frightening event. It can leave you feeling unsafe or upset long after the event has passed.
n. a severe emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience, or a physical injury. Uncountable when referring to the general psychological condition, but countable when denoting specific distressing events.
The accident caused her a lot of emotional trauma.
After surviving the earthquake, many residents needed therapy to help them process the trauma of losing their homes.
The novel explores how generational trauma shapes family dynamics, illustrating that unhealed psychological wounds can be passed down long after the initial conflict ends.
From Ancient Greek τραῦμα (traûma, “wound, damage”).
Often collocates with verbs like 'experience', 'suffer', or 'process', and frequently acts as a noun adjunct in phrases like 'trauma response'.