flashback

noun flash·back \ ˈflash-ˌbak \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

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

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Examples of flashback in a Sentence

The character's childhood was described in a series of flashbacks.
He's having flashbacks of his days in the war.

Recent Examples of flashback from the Web

What remains even more mysterious is the flashback conversation in Season 2 Episode 1, during which Dolores and Bernard chat about a dream Bernard had involving water.

— mehera bonner, Harper's BAZAAR, "Westworld Just Debuted It's Most Confusing and Mind-Blowing Episode Yet," 4 June 2018
Also on June 13 are Sky Squad, led by Andres Baines aka Sky Guy, performing acrobatic dunks, and Generation presenting a 1960s musical flashback.

— jessi virtusio, Daily Southtown, "Huntertones, Mucca Pazza heat up Main Street Nights in Park Forest," 31 May 2018
And in general, the flashback structure is too herky-jerky for the film’s more delicate emotional modulations.

— peter rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, "3 movies you should see in May," 30 May 2018
In season 2, Hannah appears in the form of a sort of apparition, who speaks only to Clay, as well as in flashbacks that further the other characters's narratives.

— claire dodson, Teen Vogue, "Katherine Langford Says "13 Reasons Why" Season 2 "Could Have Been Hannah's Last Chapter"," 25 May 2018
The question is: Will there be any more Hannah and Zach flashbacks in season 3?

— alison caporimo, Seventeen, ""13 Reasons Why" Star Ross Butler Says He Totally Saw Zach and Hannah's Love Story Coming," 21 May 2018
Last week, things picked up thanks to an episode told almost entirely in flashback that explained the real reason Delos decided to invest in Westworld to begin with (immortality—James Delos wanted to be an immortal robot!).

— kayleigh roberts, Marie Claire, "'Westworld' *Finally* Showed Us Shogun World and Revealed That Maeve Is Basically God Now," 21 May 2018
Seriously, getting some major flashback vibes here.

— jamie ballard, Good Housekeeping, "Prince George Followed In Prince Harry and Prince William's Pageboy Footsteps Today," 19 May 2018
The flashbacks work notably better than the present-day material, which includes the unfortunate creative choice of having Hannah appear to Clay as what amounts to a ghostly vision.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'13 Reasons Why' offers fewer reasons to watch second season," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flashback.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of flashback

1903

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

flash back

verb

intransitive verb

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

First Known Use of flash back

1944

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

FLASHBACK Defined for English Language Learners

flashback

noun

: a part of a story or movie that describes or shows something that happened in the past
: a strong memory of a past event that comes suddenly into a person's mind