flashback
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.
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a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the storyantonyms:flash-forwarda transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to a later event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the storytype of:transitiona passage that connects a topic to one that follows
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an unexpected but vivid recurrence of a past experience (especially a recurrence of the effects of an hallucinogenic drug taken much earlier)
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Vocabulary lists containing flashback
If you want to understand the tools and techniques that great writers use, learn these literary devices and figures of speech. Review this vocabulary list and you'll be a master of metaphor, an expert on euphemism, and a pro at puns.
On the GED Reasoning Through Language Arts Test, you will encounter passages from literature. Ensure you're prepared to analyze literary texts by mastering these important terms.
If you want to understand the tools and techniques that great writers use, learn these literary devices and figures of speech. Review this vocabulary list and you'll be a master of metaphor, an expert on euphemism, and a pro at puns.