flashback

/ˌflæʃˈbæk/

/ˈflæʃbæk/

Other forms: flashbacks

A flashback is a transition in a story to an earlier time, that interrupts the normal chronological order of events. A flashback in a movie might show what happened when a character was younger.

Flashbacks are often used for comedic effect, to prove or contradict something in the present. For example, if a character in a sitcom claims he does the dishes every single night, flashbacks could show him ignoring a giant pile of dirty dishes on various occasions. Flashback can also mean a sudden, vivid remembrance of past events, like having a flashback to your kindergarten days if you go visit that classroom today.

Definitions of flashback

1. noun

   a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story
   antonyms:

   flash-forward

   a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to a later event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story

   type of:

   transition

   a passage that connects a topic to one that follows
2. noun

   an unexpected but vivid recurrence of a past experience (especially a recurrence of the effects of an hallucinogenic drug taken much earlier)
   type of:

   recurrence, return

   the event of happening again (especially at regular intervals)