digressed; digressing; digresses
: to turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument
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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.
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.
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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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about these examples.
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
Dictionary Entries Near digress
Cite this Entry
“Digress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/digress. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
digress
verb
di·gress
dī-ˈgres 
də-
: to turn aside especially from the main subject in writing or speaking
digression
noun
-ˈgresh-ən
digressive
adjective
-ˈgres-iv
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