flashed back

Memory intruded abruptly

Flashed back means suddenly recalled or returned to a past event, especially vividly or involuntarily.

The term often describes memory triggered by present experience: The smell of gunpowder flashed him back to combat.

In film and literature, a narrative flashes back when it shifts to an earlier time: The story flashed back to her childhood.

Related

vividness · dissociation · lost time · emotional triggers · repression · nostalgia · intrusive thoughts · buried memory · sensory detail · childhood memory · recollection · mind's eye · deja vu · visualization · hindsight · time jump · mental picture · reliving

Opposites
temporal direction of mental reference

flashed backanticipated

Expected in advance

foresaw · looked ahead

narrative movement (film/literary technique)

flashed backjumped ahead

fast-forwarded

Family

flash, back, flashed, flashing, flashy, flasher, flashback, flashbacks, backs

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G