fugue
/ˈfjuːɡ/noun, verb
fugue is spelled F-U-G-U-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fugue means “A contrapuntal piece of music wherein a particular melody is played in a number of voices, each voice introduced in turn by playing the melody” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fugue is fugues.
How many letters and syllables are in fugue?
| Letters | 5: F-U-G-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is fugue?
Fugue appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fugue?
- /ˈfyɡ/
- /ˈfjuːɡ/
Fugue has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-fugue.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fugue
- fugues plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- fuguing participle, present
- fugued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fugue mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A contrapuntal piece of music wherein a particular melody is played in a number of voices, each voice introduced in turn by playing the melody.
- 2
Anything in literature, poetry, film, painting, etc., that resembles a fugue in structure or in its elaborate complexity and formality.
- 3
A fugue state.
verb
- 1
To improvise, in singing, by introducing vocal ornamentation to fill gaps etc.
- 2
To spend time in a dissociative fugue state.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fugue in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense piece of music:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fugue come from?
Borrowed from French fugue, from Italian fuga (“flight, ardor”), from Latin fuga (“act of fleeing”), from fugiō (“to flee”); compare Ancient Greek φυγή (phugḗ). Apparently from the metaphor that the first part starts alone on its course, and is pursued by later parts. Doublet of fuga.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).