flashback

American  

[flash-bak] / ˈflæʃˌbæk /

noun

1. a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.

2. an event or scene so inserted.

3. Also called flashback hallucinosis.  Psychiatry.

   1. the spontaneous recurrence of visual hallucinations or other effects of a drug, as LSD, long after the use of the drug has been discontinued.

   2. recurrent and abnormally vivid recollection of a traumatic experience, as a battle, sometimes accompanied by hallucinations.

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flashback British  

/ ˈflæʃˌbæk /

noun

1. a transition in a novel, film, etc, to an earlier scene or event

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verb

1. (intr, adverb) to return in a novel, film, etc, to a past event

Usage

What does flashback mean? A flashback is a technique in movies, novels, and other narratives in which the present story transitions into a scene from the past. When used as a verb, the term is usually spelled as two words, as in My favorite part of the book is when it flashes back to their childhood. The opposite of a flashback is a flash-forward—when the narrative transitions into a scene from the future. Flashback is also used in psychology to refer to recollections or hallucinations of past events. Example: The flashback scene showed how they got their superpowers.

Etymology

Origin of flashback

1910–15; 1965–70 flashback for def. 3; noun use of verb phrase flash back

Explanation

A flashback is a transition in a story to an earlier time, that interrupts the normal chronological order of events. A flashback in a movie might show what happened when a character was younger. Flashbacks are often used for comedic effect, to prove or contradict something in the present. For example, if a character in a sitcom claims he does the dishes every single night, flashbacks could show him ignoring a giant pile of dirty dishes on various occasions. Flashback can also mean a sudden, vivid remembrance of past events, like having a flashback to your kindergarten days if you go visit that classroom today.

Example Sentences

It’s “kind of a flashback for some of us,” Andrew said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Yet the flashback sequences to Vito Corleone’s arrival in America give it resonance for a country built on immigration, and the film is now almost universally considered the best of the three.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

Pollock, who has spent hundreds of hours diving in submersibles, counts some of the more spectacular "flashback bioluminescence" events as among the most memorable moments in his career.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

In a flashback, Martini is seen leaving his shabby Potter-owned apartment with a goat and a troop of kids for a suburban tract home that Bailey developed and sold to him.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

She’s distraught already, it's clear, over the canker-sore commercial flashback.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Related Words

• hallucination
• memory
• recollection