Definition

Noun: A narrative device, primarily used in literature, theater, or film, where the sequence of events is interrupted to present a scene or event that occurs in the future of the story's main timeline. This technique temporarily breaks the normal chronological flow to show what will happen later.

Usage

The term "flash-forward" is used to describe the specific moment or scene that jumps ahead in time. It is the opposite of a flashback. It is typically used as a countable noun.

Examples

• The novel uses a flash-forward in the first chapter to show the protagonist as an old man, creating mystery about the journey to come.
• The film's most powerful moment is a brief flash-forward to the character's final fate.
• The playwright employed a flash-forward to reveal the consequence of the hero's decision before showing the decision itself.

Advanced Usage

• "to contain a flash-forward": To include this narrative device within a work.
  • The episode contains a disturbing flash-forward to the season finale.
• "to be shown in a flash-forward": Describes an event revealed through this technique.
  • The accident was first shown in a flash-forward twenty minutes earlier.

Variants and Related Words

• Flashforward (noun): An alternative, often single-word, spelling of "flash-forward."
• Flashback (noun): The opposite narrative device, showing an event that occurred in the past relative to the main story timeline.
• Prolepsis (noun): A rhetorical and literary term for anticipation, often used as a more formal synonym for "flash-forward."

Synonyms

• Future jump
• Time jump forward (descriptive phrase)
• Prolepsis (formal/literary term)

Antonyms

• Flashback

Related Phrases

• Ahead in time: A descriptive phrase for the content of a flash-forward.
  • The scene jumps ahead in time to show the city in ruins.
• Jump to the future: A verbal phrase describing the action of a flash-forward.
  • The story suddenly jumps to the future.

Noun

1. a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to a later event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story