flashback
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flashback
- /ˈflæʃ.bæk/
Where it comes from
From flash + back.
noun flashbacks
-
A dramatic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative.
Similar: analepsis
- A vivid mental image of a past trauma or other sensation that the trauma is happening in the present, especially one that recurs.
- Something that evokes old memories; a throwback. We danced fast to Martha and the Vandellas, Supremes or even the Beach Boys. Slow to Dusty Springfield or Righteous Brothers (how's that for a heavy flash back?)
- A similar recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug. Maude Lebowski: What do you do for recreation? / The Dude: Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.
- The condition of the flame propagating down the hose of an oxy-fuel welding system.
- A query that operates against data from an earlier time, before it was changed. As noted, that method provides limited support for multi-table flashbacks.
verb flashbacks · flashbacking · flashbacked
-
To undergo a flashback; to experience a vivid mental image from the past.
Similar: flash back
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: return, back, flash, flashforward, analepsis, backfill, backshadowing, frame story, backstory, framing device, preflash, interquel, spin-off, backdating, prolepsis, prochronism
Translations
Every language
noun a dramatic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative
| Español | flashback, escena retrospectiva |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 플래시백 peullaesibaek |
| 日本語 | フラッシュバック furasshubakku, 回想シーン kaisō shīn |
| 中文 | 倒敘 /倒叙 dàoxù |
| Português | flashback |
| Français | retour en arrière, analepse, flashback |
| Deutsch | Rückblende, Rückblick, Flashback |
| Ελληνικά | αναδρομή anadromí |
| Русский | флэшбэ́к flɛšbɛ́k, ретроспекти́ва retrospektíva, обра́тный кадр obrátnyj kadr, ретроспе́кция retrospékcija |
noun a vivid mental image of a past trauma, especially one that recurs
| 中文 | 幻覺重現 /幻觉重现 huànjué chóngxiàn |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Flashback |
| Русский | воспомина́ние vospominánije, взгляд в про́шлое vzgljad v próšloje |
noun a similar recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug
| Deutsch | Flashback |
|---|
Talk about this word "flashback." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/flashback. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. flashback. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/flashback "flashback." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/flashback.Cite this
@misc{flashback_2026,
title = {flashback},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/flashback},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
