flashback

[US]/'flæʃbæk/
[UK]/'flæʃbæk/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

n. a scene in a novel, movie, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story.

Example Sentences

in a series of flashbacks, we follow the pair through their teenage years.

I experienced a vivid flashback of my childhood during the movie.

The smell of fresh bread gave her a sudden flashback to her grandmother's kitchen.

The sound of thunder triggered a flashback to the time he got caught in a storm.

She had a flashback to her high school graduation when she saw her old classmates at the reunion.

The old photo album brought back a lot of flashbacks from family vacations.

His PTSD often causes him to have intense flashbacks to his time in the war.

The song playing on the radio triggered a flashback to their first dance together.

The old house gave her a flashback to her childhood summers spent there.

As she walked through the park, she had a flashback to the day she first met her best friend.

The smell of sunscreen brought back a vivid flashback of their beach vacation.

Real-world Examples

Well, I'm not seizing, but I am having an acid flashback. Does that count?

Source: Grey's Anatomy Season 2

During that first hike, I had flashbacks.

Source: VOA Standard English (Video Version) - 2022 Collection

Horrifying flashbacks, but still, great song.

Source: The private playlist of a celebrity.

And from that flashback came 1883 several months after we had been on Yellowstone for the flashback.

Source: Actor Dialogue (Bilingual Selection)

Its fragmented points of view and flashbacks were innovative.

Source: The Economist - Arts

The play takes place in 24 hours, plus flashbacks.

Source: Crash Course in Drama

Flashback to 1915, when a bottle of Coca-Cola cost just a nickel.

Source: CET-6 Listening Past Exam Questions (with Translations)

So that included things like flashbacks, nightmares, bodily kinds of difficulties.

Source: Science 60 Seconds - Scientific American June 2023 Collection

Another sign is flashbacks and these are often more subtle than specific memories.

Source: BBC Ideas Selection (Bilingual)

You want to have nightmares and flashbacks of the thing that could kill you.

Source: TED Talks (Audio Version) May 2016 Collection

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