fugue

American  

[fyoog] / fyug /

noun

1. Music. a polyphonic composition based upon one, two, or more themes, which are enunciated by several voices or parts in turn, subjected to contrapuntal treatment, and gradually built up into a complex form having somewhat distinct divisions or stages of development and a marked climax at the end.

2. Psychiatry. a period during which a person experiences loss of memory, often begins a new life, and, upon recovery, remembers nothing of the amnesic phase.

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fugue British  

/ fjuːɡ /

noun

1. a musical form consisting essentially of a theme repeated a fifth above or a fourth below the continuing first statement

2. psychiatry a dreamlike altered state of consciousness, lasting from a few hours to several days, during which a person loses his or her memory for his or her previous life and often wanders away from home

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Other Word Forms

• fuguelike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of fugue

First recorded in 1590–1600; from French, from Italian fuga, from Latin: “flight”

Explanation

The noun fugue describes a psychiatric disorder that involves memory loss and travel. If you wake up in New Jersey and can’t remember how you got there, one possibility is that you were in a fugue state. Fugue traces back to the Latin word fuga, meaning “flight.” If you’re in a fugue state, it's like you're fleeing from your own identity. Symptoms of this rare condition include amnesia and wandering, typically in an attempt to create a new identity. Musicians might know that fugue is also the name of a musical form in which a theme is introduced and then repeated in higher or lower notes, as if the theme is flying around the scale.

Example Sentences

“He’s the Rock of Ages of music,” says Carpenter, who particularly loves the fugue nicknamed “St. Anne” and the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025

The chorus, in the old musical forms of canon and fugue, demands light.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2023

"This isn't where we're supposed to be," Tai told Van in Episode 5 after going into a fugue state and trying to kiss her.

From Salon • May 12, 2023

Ben, who didn’t partake and has now entered a fugue state, where he relives memories, or perhaps near-memories, of his time with an ex-boyfriend.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023

Fugue — A fugue usually has at least three independent parts, or voices.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

• exodus