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

• aside
• divagation
• excursion
• 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

Alvarado and José Ostos did the cinematography, and their keen sense of light, color, and tempo invests Adela’s tender observations and enigmatic digressions with drama and passion. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 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

Trump’s digressions in his speeches could be laughed away in his first term. —Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025

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

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