: the stuffy atmosphere of a poorly ventilated space
also
: a stuffy or malodorous emanation
fugged; fugging
: to loll indoors in a stuffy atmosphere
: to make stuffy and odorous
usually -er/-est
: stuffy and smelly
the air was fuggy; the light dim—
Virginia Woolf
Virginia WoolfExamples of fug in a Sentence
Noun
They sat in the dense fug of a smoky bar.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
It’s become like an unpleasant fug hanging over the heads of all artists.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 2 June 2026
Margot Robbie has hit on the perfect high summer hairdo—one for running errands in the fug of L.A., that looks chic and detailed while being minimal effort.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2025
The fug of beer, the sight of so many shiny bottles, the circulating trays of Champagne can sometimes be too much, especially for those new to, or feeling shaky in, their sobriety.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023
In the forties, a German beekeeper named Johann Thür used the term Nestduftwärmebindung—literally, nest-scent-heat-binding—to convey the heady fug of warmth, humidity, pheromones, and other mysterious signals that is essential to a healthy bees’ nest.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
The fourth quarter, when the Chinese economy began to re-emerge from its COVID fug, was also better for Tencent.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023
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Noun
Those artists were ironic and aloof, treating advertising and mass-media imagery as expressions of a broader fug of celebrity and consumerism.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
It’s become like an unpleasant fug hanging over the heads of all artists.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 2 June 2026
Margot Robbie has hit on the perfect high summer hairdo—one for running errands in the fug of L.A., that looks chic and detailed while being minimal effort.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 9 Aug. 2025
The fug of beer, the sight of so many shiny bottles, the circulating trays of Champagne can sometimes be too much, especially for those new to, or feeling shaky in, their sobriety.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023
In the forties, a German beekeeper named Johann Thür used the term Nestduftwärmebindung—literally, nest-scent-heat-binding—to convey the heady fug of warmth, humidity, pheromones, and other mysterious signals that is essential to a healthy bees’ nest.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
The fourth quarter, when the Chinese economy began to re-emerge from its COVID fug, was also better for Tencent.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Fug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fug. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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