trauma

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trau·ma / ˈtroumə; ˈtrô-/ • n. (pl. -mas or -ma·ta / -mətə/ ) a deeply distressing or disturbing experience: they were reluctant to talk about the traumas of the revolution. ∎  emotional shock following a stressful event or a physical injury, which may be associated with physical shock and sometimes leads to long-term neurosis. ∎ Med. physical injury.ORIGIN: late 17th cent.: from Greek, literally ‘wound.’

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