Meaning & use
a flashback
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Meanings
nouncountable
A sudden, clear memory of a past event that comes back to your mind.
Grammar: Used with 'a' or in the plural: 'I had a flashback.' / 'She gets flashbacks.'
Patterns
- have a flashback
- get flashbacks
- a flashback to something
Seeing the old house gave me a flashback to my childhood.
He kept having flashbacks to the accident.
The smell of smoke triggered a flashback.
nouncountabletechnical
A scene in a film or book that shows events from an earlier time.
Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'in flashback' or 'a flashback to'.
Patterns
- in flashback
- a flashback to something
The movie uses a flashback to explain why the character left home.
The novel begins with a flashback to the 1980s.
The director included several flashbacks to the war.
Word forms
| plural | flashbacks |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a flashback
- After the accident, she often had a flashback to that day.
- trigger a flashback
- Loud noises can trigger a flashback in some people.
- a flashback to
- The film opens with a flashback to his childhood.
- in flashback
- The story is told in flashback.
Synonyms and how they differ
- memory
- A general word for anything you remember; a flashback is sudden and vivid, often unwanted.
- recollection
- More formal and often deliberate; a flashback comes without trying.
Word family
- flash back phrasal verb
- To suddenly remember or show a past event.
Commonly confused: a flashback or flash-forward?
a flashback vs flash-forward
A flashback looks back to the past; a flash-forward jumps ahead to the future.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'a flashback' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A flashback to' is the correct pattern for a memory of a past event. Option An is wrong because 'flashback of' is not used for physical objects; option C is not a natural use; option D treats it as a place.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a flashback”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.