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
Heather Vogel Frederick2
: 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
Did you know?
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
While a fair number of New Yorkers may be at home alone tonight, watching prestige-TV reruns and trying to enter a fugue state, plenty of us plan to lean into the misery (or joy) of watching the election results in numbers.
—Curbed Staff, Curbed, 6 Nov. 2024
Ben and Jennifer are driving around in a fugue state, unwilling to accept that their own love story will also bring about the end of the world.
—Scott Meslow, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2024
There’s a techno track charting climate change, a fugue about European bureaucracy, an experimental epic about beer tasting, and more.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2024
Ka’s music, which is largely self-produced, is at once stark and enveloping, a fugue of dread and predatory housing law punctured by shards and wisdom and, occasionally, discrete moments of joy.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fugue 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Curbed Staff, Curbed, 6 Nov. 2024
Ben and Jennifer are driving around in a fugue state, unwilling to accept that their own love story will also bring about the end of the world.
—Scott Meslow, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2024
There’s a techno track charting climate change, a fugue about European bureaucracy, an experimental epic about beer tasting, and more.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2024
Ka’s music, which is largely self-produced, is at once stark and enveloping, a fugue of dread and predatory housing law punctured by shards and wisdom and, occasionally, discrete moments of joy.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fugue
Dictionary Entries Near fugue
Cite this Entry
“Fugue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fugue. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fugue
noun
: a musical composition in which themes are repeated in complex patterns
fugal
adjective
ˈfyü-gəl
Medical Definition
fugue
noun
: a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect them
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share