digress

verb

di·​gress dī-ˈgres 

də-

digressed; digressing; digresses

intransitive verb

: to turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument

Did you know?

But I Digress

The verb digress is often encountered in the phrase “but I digress.” This is an idiomatic expression that has been in use in English for many hundreds of years. Examples may be found as far back as 1653, when Edmund Hall used “but I digress” in his A Scriptural Discourse of the Apostasie and the Antichrist. The phrase is used, often jocularly, by speakers and writers to indicate that they have veered away from the subject that they had been speaking or writing of, and intend to return to it.

Choose the Right Synonym for digress

swerve, veer, deviate, depart, digress, diverge mean to turn aside from a straight course.

swerve may suggest a physical, mental, or moral turning away from a given course, often with abruptness.

swerved to avoid hitting the dog

veer implies a major change in direction.

at that point the path veers to the right

deviate implies a turning from a customary or prescribed course.

never deviated from her daily routine

depart suggests a deviation from a traditional or conventional course or type.

occasionally departs from his own guidelines

digress applies to a departing from the subject of one's discourse.

a professor prone to digress

diverge may equal depart but usually suggests a branching of a main path into two or more leading in different directions.

after school their paths diverged

Examples of digress in a Sentence

The third visit, the first one after I started the drugs, is shorter, more perfunctory than the first two. Papakostas moves briskly from one question to the next and looks at his watch if we digress. —Gary Greenberg, Harper's, May 2007

Coleridge, of course, who happily called himself a … lover of parentheses, does not bridle himself, but merely produces digressions about how he should not digress. —James Wood, New Republic, 6 Sept. 1999

He had not written too much per se; he had digressed intolerably given the significance of the events under consideration. —Alain de Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life, 1997

He digressed so often that it was hard to follow what he was saying.

If I can digress for a moment, I'd like to briefly mention her earlier films.

Recent Examples on the Web

By following Penelope, a heroine who’s not a Bridgerton by blood, and digressing from focusing on swoon-worthy matchmaking, the show scrutinized the ton’s priorities and, by extension, its own appeal. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 13 June 2024

The series percolated with the idiosyncratic sensibilities of its creators like few before it, unafraid to digress from the obligations of conventional plotting in order to indulge in pure storytelling, character development, imagery and atmosphere. —Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024

Over the course of his latest 75-minute monologue, Birbiglia digresses from time to time into what sounds like stand-up territory. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024

Trump trial 'not a political rally': judge Trump’s two civil cases featured judges chiding the former president for speaking out of turn or digressing in his responses, while Trump bridles against restrictions. —Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024

The Suns nearly had to play perfect on both ends to win – and did so – but their defense digressed some more. —Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 17 Jan. 2024

The audience of 1,600-plus, all primed to cheer the speakers’ adversarial views, found less and less to react to as the panel digressed. —Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023

Ellis kept digressing into jokes and rambling stories during his set, even doing a bit of brief crowd work with the audience. —Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2023

The fascinating conversation between Dr. Patalon, the philosophy enthusiast physician and the rather nontraditional economist digressed in unexpected directions but concluded with an interesting note. —Carrie Rubinstein, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Latin digressus, past participle of digredi, from dis- + gradi to step — more at grade entry 1

First Known Use

1529, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

digress

verb

di·​gress dī-ˈgres 

də-

: to turn aside especially from the main subject in writing or speaking

digression

-ˈgresh-ən

noun

digressive

-ˈgres-iv

adjective