digression

American  

[dih-gresh-uhn, dahy-] / dɪˈgrɛʃ ən, daɪ- /

noun

1. the act of digressing.

   Synonyms:

   divergence, deviation

2. a passage or section that deviates from the central theme in speech or writing.

   Synonyms:

   divergence, deviation

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Other Word Forms

• digressional adjective
• digressionary adjective

Etymology

Origin of digression

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin dīgressiōn-, stem of dīgressiō “departure,” from dīgress(us) “departed” (past participle of dīgredī “to go off, depart”; digress ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

But the presentation and even the digressions make it all a story with layers, and atmosphere, and maybe even transcendent meaning about perception and justice.

From The Wall Street Journal

Its deviations from the source material are digressions done with love.

From Salon

But episode 6 opens as a virtual music video starring Mr. Kutcher; there are bold digressions into storylines that seem to be going nowhere and end up somewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal

Historically, some U.S. listeners have struggled to embrace K-pop because of the language barrier, or found the genre’s melodic digressions and stop-start rhythms jarring, as if three songs are crammed into one.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pacing is a recurring problem: Running about two hours and 20 minutes, the film is easily half an hour too long as it indulges in irrelevant asides and digressions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• detour
• footnote