flash·back
ˈflash-ˌbak 
1
: a recession of flame to an unwanted position (as into a blowpipe)
2
a
: interruption of chronological sequence (as in a film or literary work) by interjection of events of earlier occurrence
also
: an instance of flashback
b
: a past incident recurring vividly in the mind
flashed back; flashing back; flashes back
1
: to focus one's mind on or vividly remember a past time or incident
—usually used with to
flashed back to my childhood
2
: to employ a flashback (as in a film)
—usually used with to
Synonyms
Examples of flashback in a Sentence
Noun
The character's childhood was described in a series of flashbacks.
He's having flashbacks of his days in the war.
Recent Examples on the Web
Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Those flashbacks mean that Colton is a time traveler, and was using the pond long before young Jacob, Alice (Sadie-LaFlemme Snow), or Kat jumped into the mysterious water attached to the Landry farm.
—Megan Vick, Variety, 1 Apr. 2024
Whether in the interview scenes or in the flashbacks, his hushed intensity suggests a fractured man-child who was never properly socialized.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The real reason the episode works, though, is its nifty, twisty structure, a series of stories conveyed to an absent Marshall via flashbacks and phone calls.
—Ew Staff Updated, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
The dream sequences, flashbacks and sidetracks don’t always succeed, and Torres’s absurdist humor is hit-or-miss.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
The flashbacks are rendered as a dreamy, nostalgic trip — an abstract melange of green foliage, flashes of calming smiles and the pages of a picture book being turned.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
Even without the flashbacks, voters will have reason to stress.
—Lisa Lerer, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Torres’s real mother designed set pieces for his film, including a fantastical playground that appears in flashbacks to Alejandro’s youth.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Sarah Grant, SPIN, 10 Apr. 2024
Freewheeling through time and flashing back to events depicted in the series, El Camino picks up right where Breaking Bad left off, and includes a host of cameos from the show's five-season run.
—EW.com, 18 Jan. 2024
Most guests recorded bits and snatches of mental film as the evening flowed on, scenes that will flash back for some time to come.
—Gloria Steinem, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2024
When the clip flashes back to the home, Williams is still stationed on the floor there — arms wrapped around an exhausted version of herself seeking comfort.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2024
As Oppenheimer defends himself in front of a committee of hanging judges, the movie uses his anecdotes to flash back in time, and Nolan creates a hypnotic multi-tiered storytelling structure, using it to tease out the hidden continuities that shaped Oppenheimer’s life and his creation of the bomb.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 July 2023
The Quinta Brunson comedy picked up five months into the school year, only flashing back to the beginning of the year at the show’s central school, in order to sync up with real life.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Feb. 2024
From there, the premiere flashes back to the morning after Belly and Conrad's first kiss, as Belly immediately confesses to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) what happened with his older brother.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 14 July 2023
Golden State could flash back to Nikola Jokic’s prayer 3 that banked in with 0.7 seconds left, or Chet Holmgren’s buzzer-beating 3 in an OT loss and, days later, his trio of game-winning free throws made off a Draymond Green faux-pas foul.
—Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2024
Noun
For Callahan, who sprinkles the book with flashbacks from before Eliza’s diagnosis, deafness is both a medical condition and a metaphor for the incompleteness of our knowledge of the world.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Those flashbacks mean that Colton is a time traveler, and was using the pond long before young Jacob, Alice (Sadie-LaFlemme Snow), or Kat jumped into the mysterious water attached to the Landry farm.
—Megan Vick, Variety, 1 Apr. 2024
Whether in the interview scenes or in the flashbacks, his hushed intensity suggests a fractured man-child who was never properly socialized.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The real reason the episode works, though, is its nifty, twisty structure, a series of stories conveyed to an absent Marshall via flashbacks and phone calls.
—Ew Staff Updated, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
The dream sequences, flashbacks and sidetracks don’t always succeed, and Torres’s absurdist humor is hit-or-miss.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
The flashbacks are rendered as a dreamy, nostalgic trip — an abstract melange of green foliage, flashes of calming smiles and the pages of a picture book being turned.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
Even without the flashbacks, voters will have reason to stress.
—Lisa Lerer, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Torres’s real mother designed set pieces for his film, including a fantastical playground that appears in flashbacks to Alejandro’s youth.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Verb
Rose flashes back to being eight years old and playing with his best friends, whose mother died of cancer.
—Sarah Grant, SPIN, 10 Apr. 2024
Freewheeling through time and flashing back to events depicted in the series, El Camino picks up right where Breaking Bad left off, and includes a host of cameos from the show's five-season run.
—EW.com, 18 Jan. 2024
Most guests recorded bits and snatches of mental film as the evening flowed on, scenes that will flash back for some time to come.
—Gloria Steinem, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2024
When the clip flashes back to the home, Williams is still stationed on the floor there — arms wrapped around an exhausted version of herself seeking comfort.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2024
As Oppenheimer defends himself in front of a committee of hanging judges, the movie uses his anecdotes to flash back in time, and Nolan creates a hypnotic multi-tiered storytelling structure, using it to tease out the hidden continuities that shaped Oppenheimer’s life and his creation of the bomb.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 July 2023
The Quinta Brunson comedy picked up five months into the school year, only flashing back to the beginning of the year at the show’s central school, in order to sync up with real life.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Feb. 2024
From there, the premiere flashes back to the morning after Belly and Conrad's first kiss, as Belly immediately confesses to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) what happened with his older brother.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 14 July 2023
Golden State could flash back to Nikola Jokic’s prayer 3 that banked in with 0.7 seconds left, or Chet Holmgren’s buzzer-beating 3 in an OT loss and, days later, his trio of game-winning free throws made off a Draymond Green faux-pas foul.
—Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flashback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Flashback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flashback. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flashback
noun
flash·back
ˈflash-ˌbak
1
: the introduction of a past event into a story or motion picture
also
: this past event
2
: a past incident recurring clearly in the mind
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