1
as in tangent
a departure from the subject under consideration
this may well appear to be a divagation at first, but I hope to establish the relevance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in deviation
a turning away from a course or standard
a self-consciously "literary" novel that represents a major divagation from traditional narrative
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for divagation
Noun
-
The conversation is lively, with people often chatting over each other and going on tangents.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Feb. 2026 -
All in all, the show tackles a thoughtful premise — even two people speaking the same linguistic language will need their thoughts translated — and almost got it right but took a couple of tangents after the halfway mark.—
Hannah Abraham,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Men’s football continues to be dominated by a hegemonic masculinity that punishes any deviation from the norm.—
Colin Millar,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
-
There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.—
Amanda Luberto,
AZCentral.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
For now, the agency still represents other A-list talent including Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay and Tyler, the Creator, though many in the industry suspect a wave of departures is coming.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Her answer is a departure in terms of how publicly it was stated.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Divagation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/divagation. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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