/flash"bak'/ , n.
1. a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work.
2. an event or scene so inserted.
3. Also called flashback hallucinosis . Psychiatry.
a. the spontaneous recurrence of visual hallucinations or other effects of a drug, as LSD, long after the use of the drug has been discontinued.
b. recurrent and abnormally vivid recollection of a traumatic experience, as a battle, sometimes accompanied by hallucinations.
[ 1910-15; 1965-70 for def. 3; n. use of v. phrase flash back ]