noun
fugue
A dissociative state involving memory loss and wandering away from familiar surroundings.
During a fugue, a person may wander far from home.
Etymology
Latin fuga means flight. The psychiatric term applies that idea to a state in which someone wanders away from familiar surroundings while experiencing a disruption of memory.
More examples
- She arrives in another city during a dissociative fugue.
- After the fugue ends, he cannot recall the journey.
- Memory loss alone does not necessarily indicate a fugue.
Forms
fugue · fugues
Similar words
- amnesia
- Means memory loss alone, without necessarily involving travel or wandering.
- dissociation
- Covers mental disconnection without necessarily involving memory loss or wandering.