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 conversation has been necessarily condensed for clarity and to take out vast numbers of further digressions.
—Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
The logic of life allows for such digressions, and such digressions occur in miniature in The Secret Agent: in the way Sebastiana holds court with Armando and his fellow refugees, or Hans dances in the street during a carnival celebration.
—Andy Crump, Time, 2 Dec. 2025
This is a bit of a digression, which just occurred to me.
—JSTOR Daily, 19 Nov. 2025
But in the small areas of freedom McAvoy allows himself outside the main thrust of the familiar rags-to-riches-to-regret arc there are sharp little digressions and darker shadowy corners that suggest there’s more to the film, and to McAvoy as a filmmaker, than initially meets the eye.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for digression
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Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
The logic of life allows for such digressions, and such digressions occur in miniature in The Secret Agent: in the way Sebastiana holds court with Armando and his fellow refugees, or Hans dances in the street during a carnival celebration.
—Andy Crump, Time, 2 Dec. 2025
This is a bit of a digression, which just occurred to me.
—JSTOR Daily, 19 Nov. 2025
But in the small areas of freedom McAvoy allows himself outside the main thrust of the familiar rags-to-riches-to-regret arc there are sharp little digressions and darker shadowy corners that suggest there’s more to the film, and to McAvoy as a filmmaker, than initially meets the eye.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Oct. 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 8 Jan. 2026.
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