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
Willard Sterne Randall2
archaic
: a going aside
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 metafictional form of the book and its digressions on the nature of novel writing itself are deliberately off-putting and call into question the narrative’s truthfulness.
—Bartolomeo Sala, The Dial, 27 Mar. 2025
Spread across a larger ensemble, with more side alleys and self-amusing authorial digressions, The Barbarians is more diffuse.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025
Lots of time has passed and many digressions away from theater have encompassed Haley’s career.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
Among the hundreds of artifacts are recent licensed collaborations including ones with Lacoste, Converse and Uniqlo, which saw the artist Kaws give the characters his signature Xs for eyes — a rare digression from the original line art, said Menta.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for digression
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Bartolomeo Sala, The Dial, 27 Mar. 2025
Spread across a larger ensemble, with more side alleys and self-amusing authorial digressions, The Barbarians is more diffuse.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025
Lots of time has passed and many digressions away from theater have encompassed Haley’s career.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
Among the hundreds of artifacts are recent licensed collaborations including ones with Lacoste, Converse and Uniqlo, which saw the artist Kaws give the characters his signature Xs for eyes — a rare digression from the original line art, said Menta.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for digression
Cite this Entry
“Digression.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/digression. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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