1
Core action
Depart temporarily from the main subject in speech or writing.
Example
The lecturer digressed into a story about graduate school.
digress
/daɪˈɡres/ · dye-GRESSverb
Depart temporarily from the main subject in speech or writing.
Use digress to express this relationship precisely: depart temporarily from the main subject in speech or writing.
What digress Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common construction
Use this expression in its normal grammatical frame so the relationship between the surrounding ideas remains explicit.
Example
The essay occasionally digresses from its central claim.
3
Reasoning effect
It tells the reader how to interpret the timing, scope, evidence, contrast, condition, or consequence in the statement.
Example
I will not digress further from the question.
Use digress Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The lecturer digressed into a story about graduate school.
The essay occasionally digresses from its central claim.
I will not digress further from the question.
Precision Matters
Digress overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
digress
vs.Means depart temporarily from the main subject in speech or writing.
allude
Means refer to someone or something indirectly rather than naming or explaining it explicitly.
digress
vs.Means depart temporarily from the main subject in speech or writing.
concise
Means expressing much clearly in relatively few words; brief without omitting what is essential.
digress
vs.Means depart temporarily from the main subject in speech or writing.
query
Means ask a question about something, especially to obtain information or challenge its accuracy.
digress
vs.Means depart temporarily from the main subject in speech or writing.
circumlocution
Means an indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
Test digress in Context
He wanders away from the main subject.
1
While explaining the experiment, the speaker began to ___ into an unrelated account of his holiday.