fugue

noun

ˈfyüg 

1

a

: a musical composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts

The organist played a four-voiced fugue.

b

: something that resembles a fugue especially in interweaving repetitive elements

a story that … is as rich and multilayered as a fugue

—Heather Vogel Frederick

2

: a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect the acts performed

fugue verb

fuguist

ˈfyü-gist 

noun

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Fugue and Bach

Bach and Handel composed many fugues for harpsichord and organ in which the various parts (or voices) seem to flee from and chase each other in an intricate dance. Each part, after it has stated the theme or melody, apparently flees from the next part, which takes up the same theme and sets off in pursuit. Simple rounds such as "Three Blind Mice" or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" could be called fugues for children, but a true fugue can be long and extremely complex.

Examples of fugue in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The viewing experience can feel like slipping into an altered fugue state, time suspended entirely. —Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025

Johann Sebastian Bach's works were an ideal choice given the highly mathematical structure, plus the composer was so prolific, across so many very different kinds of musical compositions—preludes, fugues, chorales, toccatas, concertos, suites, and cantatas—as to allow for useful comparisons. —Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2024

And the protagonist in Lost Highway is experiencing a psychogenic fugue? —David Marchese, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025

But then — suddenly — the fingers of one of his hands, theretofore wholly engaged in the nimble articulation of complicated fugues, and runs, and trills, were unaccountably free. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from Italian fuga flight, fugue, from Latin, flight, from fugere

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for fugue

• moog

Kids Definition

fugue

noun

ˈfyüg 

: a musical composition in which themes are repeated in complex patterns

fugal

ˈfyü-gəl

adjective

Medical Definition

fugue

noun

ˈfyüg 

: a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect them