flashback

[flash-bak]

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.

flashback

/ ˈflæʃˌbæk /

noun

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

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of flashback¹

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

Example Sentences

While Guy basks in professional success, Rosemary begins to wilt, enduring intense pain and flashbacks to a nightmare she had on the night of conception.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The drill sergeant endures intrusive questioning by superiors, choosing to lie about it, but flashbacks reveal a romantic relationship with another serviceman, Maj.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Mr Parry said he suffers with flashbacks and depression because of the crash and said his partner has turned into a full-time carer which he has said "makes me feel like a burden".

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At age 43, he said, he can’t smell Pine-Sol without flashbacks to the supply closet favored by his abusers as a site for their assaults.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Numerous flashbacks include Lobb’s diary entries, which lay bare his marital infidelity and family abandonment for a second marriage to a woman not much older than his children.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hallucination 
• memory 
• recollection 

When To Use

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.