flashback

See also: Flashback, flash back, and Flash-back

English

Etymology

From flash +‎ back.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflæʃ.bæk/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: flash‧back

Noun

flashback (plural flashbacks)

1. (authorship) A dramatic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative.

   Synonym: analepsis

2. (psychology) A vivid mental image of a past trauma or other sensation that the trauma is happening in the present, especially one that recurs.

   Coordinate term: reminiscence

3. A similar recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug.
   • 1998, Joel and Ethan Coen, The Big Lebowski (motion picture):

     Maude Lebowski: What do you do for recreation? / The Dude: Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.

4. The condition of the flame propagating down the hose of an oxy-fuel welding system.
5. (databases) A query that operates against data from an earlier time, before it was changed.
   • 2004, Kevin Loney, Oracle Database 10g The Complete Reference, page 497:

     As noted, that method provides limited support for multi-table flashbacks.

   • 2004, Gavin J. T. Powell, Carol McCullough-Dieter, Oracle SQL: Jumpstart with Examples, page xxv:

     […] less used and specialized types of queries, including composite queries, hierarchical queries, version flashbacks, and parallel queries.

Derived terms

• (flame): flashback arrestor
• antiflashback
• Vietnam flashback

Descendants

• → German: Flashback
• → Spanish: flashback
• → Norwegian: flashback
• → Portuguese: flashback

Translations

a dramatic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative

Catalan: salt enrere m, analepsi f Chinese: Mandarin: 倒敘 / 倒叙 (zh) (dàoxù) Danish: tilbageblik n, flashback (da) n Finnish: takauma (fi) French: retour en arrière (fr) m, analepse (fr) f, flashback (fr) m German: Rückblende (de) f, Rückblick (de) m, Flashback (de) m Greek: αναδρομή (el) f (anadromí) Indonesian: kilas balik (id), sorot balik (id) Japanese: フラッシュバック (furasshubakku) Korean: 플래시백 (peullaesibaek) Malay: imbas kembali (ms) Norwegian: Bokmål: tilbakeblikk n Nynorsk: tilbakeblikk n Portuguese: flashback (pt) m Russian: флэшбэ́к m (flɛšbɛ́k), ретроспекти́ва (ru) f (retrospektíva), обра́тный кадр m (obrátnyj kadr), ретроспе́кция (ru) f (retrospékcija) Spanish: analepsis (es) f, flashback m (fláshbak), escena retrospectiva f Swedish: återblick (sv) c, tillbakablick (sv) c, flashback (sv) c

a vivid mental image of a past trauma, especially one that recurs

Catalan: flaixbac m Chinese: Mandarin: 幻覺重現 / 幻觉重现 (huànjué chóngxiàn) Danish: flashback (da) n Finnish: muistikuva German: Flashback (de) m Icelandic: endurupplifun f Persian: فلاشبک (flâšbak) Russian: воспомина́ние (ru) n (vospominánije), взгляд в про́шлое m (vzgljad v próšloje)

a similar recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug

Danish: flashback (da) n German: Flashback (de) m

Verb

flashback (third-person singular simple present flashbacks, present participle flashbacking, simple past and past participle flashbacked)

1. (intransitive) To undergo a flashback; to experience a vivid mental image from the past.

Synonyms

• flash back

See also

• flashforward

Further reading

• flashback (narrative) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• flashback (psychology) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• backflash, half-backs, halfbacks

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English flashback.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: flash‧back

Noun

flashback m (plural flashbacks, diminutive flashbackje n)

1. flashback

Synonyms

• terugblik

Italian

Alternative forms

• flash-back

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English flashback.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflɛʃˌbɛk/, /ˌflɛʃˈbɛk/
• Rhymes: -ɛk
• Hyphenation: flàsh‧back

Noun

flashback m (usually invariable, plural (dated) flashbacks)

1. flashback

Further reading

• flashback in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English flashback.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌflɛ.ʃiˈbɛ.ki/, /ˌflɛʃˈbɛk/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌflɛ.ʃiˈbɛ.ki/, /ˌflɛʃˈbɛk/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌflɛʃˈbɛk/, /ˌflɛ.ʃiˈbɛ.ki/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˌflaʃˈbɛk/ [ˌflaʃˈβɛk]

Noun

flashback m (plural flashbacks)

1. (narratology) flashback (earlier event inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative)

Further reading

• “flashback”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “flashback”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English flashback.

Noun

flashback n (plural flashbackuri)

1. flashback

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	flashback	flashbackul		flashbackuri	flashbackurile
genitive-dative	flashback	flashbackului		flashbackuri	flashbackurilor
vocative	flashbackule			flashbackurilor

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English flashback.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflaʃbak/ [ˈflaʃ.β̞ak]
• Rhymes: -aʃbak

Noun

flashback m (plural flashbacks)

1. flashback

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “flashback”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024