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Glite Dictionary
to flash back

to flash back

8 5.3
To suddenly see or feel a past event as if it is happening now
  • phrasal verb
  • /flæʃ bæk/
translation icon : recordar
  • Sissy flashed back to that last year in high school, when her future was wide open.

And, you know, just all those moments come flashing back and that was when I, I really, you know, appreciated the gravity of the situation.

Examples

  • As he listened to the old song, his mind flashed back to carefree summer days spent with friends.

  • The story flashes back to Marko's childhood, which introduced him to the conflict between Landfall and Wreath.

    Blog text (17)

  • I can't help but flash back to 2007 when this sort of thing happened.

    Blog text (2)

  • For a brief moment, her mind flashed back to younger days.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Tears in my eyes continue to flow as memories come flashing back right before me.

    Blog text (9)

  • "Her mind flashed back to that public meeting and the intensity of determination."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Natalie's words left me flashing back to my senior year in college.

    Blog text (32)

  • I've long heard that people who have traumatic experiences can often flash back to them if they encounter certain triggers.

    Blog text (21)

  • His thoughts flashed back to the afternoon that he met her, eight years old and sobbing, fleeing the funeral pyre.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The movie flashes back to the main character's childhood, revealing key moments from her past.

Synonyms

to hark back
vsto flash back
7 8.0

To be like something from an earlier time or to mention it

is more sudden and vivid than mere reference to the past
to cut back
vsto flash back
  • Jargon
5 5.5

To return to an earlier scene in a film or TV show to show past events

returns suddenly and vividly to a past event or time
to recall
vsto flash back
5 3.4

Bring someone's attention back from daydreaming

focuses on a sudden vivid return rather than a simple attention shift

Antonyms

to forget
∞ 1.0

Not remember something you should remember

How Vivid

to relive
107 3.7
to flash back
8 5.3
to recall
∞ 2.4
to remember
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

flash back infinitive
flashed back past
flashed back past participle
flashing back present participle
flashes back third person singular

Morphology

flash + back

The meaning 'to return suddenly and vividly to a previous event' is directly derivable from combining 'flash' (a sudden brief burst or appearance) with 'back' (to a previous time/place). This verb+particle composition follows a common, compositional pattern in English (and similar patterns exist cross-linguistically), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Flash back may come from the image of a sudden flash of light that throws your thoughts back to an earlier time. So it now means 'to suddenly remember or return to a past event'.