Synonyms of digress

digress

verb

as in to wander

to speak or write about something that is different from the main subject being discussed

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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wander
• deviate
• stray
• chatter
• rattle
• ramble
• gab
• chat
• sidetrack
• run on
• go on
• blather (on)
• prattle
• blab
• prate
• maunder
• gibber
• blabber
• waffle
• gabble
• drool
• jabber
• patter
• burble
• blither
• drivel
• bumble

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb digress contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of digress are depart, deviate, diverge, swerve, and veer. While all these words mean "to turn aside from a straight course," digress applies to a departing from the subject of one's discourse.

a professor prone to digress

Where would depart be a reasonable alternative to digress?

The words depart and digress can be used in similar contexts, but depart suggests a deviation from a traditional or conventional course or type.

occasionally departs from his own guidelines

When can deviate be used instead of digress?

While the synonyms deviate and digress are close in meaning, deviate implies a turning from a customary or prescribed course.

never deviated from her daily routine

How are the words diverge and depart related as synonyms of 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

When might swerve be a better fit than digress?

In some situations, the words swerve and digress are roughly equivalent. However, swerve may suggest a physical, mental, or moral turning away from a given course, often with abruptness.

swerved to avoid hitting the dog

When is veer a more appropriate choice than digress?

Although the words veer and digress have much in common, veer implies a major change in direction.

at that point the path veers to the right

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of digress

The islanders can no more control whether the whales come or go than Ella can control her cancer or Mayor Annie can corral a group of quibbling, digressing neighbors into decisive action. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025

Short chapters often begin in the present and then digress into episodes from the narrator’s mostly stable, untroubled past. —Lauren Christensen, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2025

Mahler handled this melodrama with remarkable composure; apparently, the two men digressed into a discussion of the brokenness of modern art. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025

The operative word is slightly; don’t digress into the weeds. —Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024

By criminalizing certain interpretations of history, Putin is taking aim less at the West than at domestic figures, who, faced with the threat of prosecution, will hesitate to digress from the official narrative of the pre–World War II Soviet Union, for example. —Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2020

As the immediate gratification from short-term gains may digress us from the long-term impact of nudging, the process should unfold organically. —Harshit Jain, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

At another Trump barn burner, the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson digressed into a lengthy pornographic reverie about a father spanking his daughter. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2024

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