I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: flash (I) + back, adverb
1.
a. : a literary or theatrical technique used especially in motion pictures and television that involves interruption of the chronological sequence of events by interjection of events or scenes of earlier occurrence often in the form of projected reminiscence
b. : a piece or instance of literary or theatrical flashback
we got to the movie at the beginning of the flashback to the hero's school days
— called also backflash
c. : a past incident recurring vividly in the mind
he saw his whole life in a series of flashbacks
2.
a. : a recession of flame to a position where it is not expected or not wanted (as into a blowpipe) ; especially : back draft
b. : arc-back
II. intransitive verb
intransitive verb
1. : to appear or become introduced as flashbacks
his life flashbacked before his eyes
2. : to employ flashbacks
the play flashbacks to the hero's childhood
a writer who flashbacks in a masterly way to impart a feeling of vitality to his characters
III. noun
: a brief recurrence of a psychedelic experience