digression

noun

di·​gres·​sion dī-ˈgre-shən 

də-

1

: the act or an instance of leaving the main subject in an extended written or verbal expression of thought : the act or an instance of digressing in a discourse or other usually organized literary work

Every place Hamilton, his parents, or his wife visited over a century's time is described at length; everyone he met merits at least a minor biographical digression.

—Willard Sterne Randall

2

archaic : a going aside

digressional

dī-ˈgresh-nəl 

də-

-ə-nᵊl

adjective

digressionary

dī-ˈgre-shə-ˌner-ē 

də-

adjective

Synonyms

• tangent

Examples of digression in a Sentence

the professor's frequent and extended digressions are the stuff of campus legend

Recent Examples on the Web

The streaming economy, however, has stretched the narrative timeline, elongated the arc, padding out a predetermined number of episodes with extraneous digressions, giving minor characters things to do that don’t necessarily contribute to the story, while not developing into much on their own. —Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025

The duo soon reveal their exceptional digressions from type. —Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025

Some might even ask if the demand for flat prices is an implicit acknowledgement of the error, but that’s a digression. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025

But that’s a digression, and one imaging rationality about a tax code that screams irrationality. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

see digress

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for digression

• accession
• aggression
• compression
• concession
• confession
• depression
• discretion
• expression
• impression
• obsession
• oppression
• possession