digressionary

adjective

as in rambling
passing from one topic to another the professor's digressionary style is appealing to some students and completely off-putting to others

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for digressionary
  1. rambling
  2. wandering
  3. indirect
Adjective
  • In the podcast, conversations with guests are interspersed with rambling reflections from Von, who is open about his past issues with substance abuse.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Even her supporters glance askance at one another during her rambling entreaties.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of rambling
Adjective
  • They are known to ruin picnics, chase wandering children, and terrorize those who accidentally mow over a nest.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The problem isn’t the wandering trees, but the wandering narrative, which needs deeper roots.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of wandering
Adjective
  • Conversations can be indirect due to details being swept under the rug, as someone could be choosing to circle around a particular issue, rather than confronting it head-on.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The federal government rejected Laftagareen’s disputed indirect re-election in March.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of indirect
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

digressional
digressionary
digressions
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Digressionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/digressionary. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tilde

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All