psychogenic fugue
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌsaɪkoʊˈdʒɛnɪk fjuːɡ/
- Specialized
:
fuga psicógena
- The patient was diagnosed with a psychogenic fugue after disappearing for several weeks and returning with no memory of his past.
Examples
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After the psychogenic fugue episode ended, she could not recall any events that had occurred during that period.
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Cases of psychogenic fugue are extremely rare and often linked to severe psychological stress.
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She was diagnosed with psychogenic fugue after disappearing for three months.
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Many patients suffering from psychogenic fugues have no memory of their past.
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After experiencing a stressful event, he entered a psychogenic fugue and wandered to a nearby town, unable to remember who he was.
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She left her home during a psychogenic fugue, starting a new life but later couldn't recall any details from that time.
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Mental health professionals diagnosed him with psychogenic fugue when he returned after weeks, having forgotten his past.
Synonyms
7
9.9
A state in which a person loses memory and identity and may travel without remembering
3
8.4
A mental state where part of a person's memory or feelings feels separate
How Severe
- Specialized
1
9.9
- Specialized
93
6.7
- Specialized
3
8.4
- Specialized
1
9.9
21
6.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is transparently compositional: 'psychogenic' (caused by psychological factors) modifies 'fugue' (a temporary loss of identity with wandering), so the phrase denotes a fugue state with psychological origins. Although a clinical/rare term, the adjective+noun structure and ordinary meanings of the constituents make the overall sense predictable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Psychogenic fugue comes from two parts: psychogenic, meaning 'caused by the mind', and fugue, from a word for 'flight' or running away. One popular image is a person's mind 'flies away' so they leave home and forget who they were, and that's why it means 'a sudden loss of identity and travel with memory loss'.