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 of digression

• 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

Melville’s book includes lengthy digressions on the typology of whales; the symbolic significance of white; the existing paintings and etchings of whales; and the history of fatal encounters with whales, among other topics. —Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026

Hunt and his director, Ashley Rodbro, build in some visual variety, whether that means screening one of Hunt’s public access sketches, cringy, or a digression into a lighting design demo, a nod to Hunt’s Illinois State degree in lighting design (and acting). —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026

Problem solving may also suffer without these low-effort digressions. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026

Such digressions could pose a problem in the future as the possibilities of human colonies in space become more likely. —Devika Rao, TheWeek, 9 Apr. 2026

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