digress

[dih-gres, dahy-]

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verb (used without object)

to deviate or wander away from the main topic or purpose in speaking or writing; depart from the principal line of argument, plot, study, etc.

Archaic. to turn aside.

Origin of digress

1520–30; < Latin dīgressus, past participle of dīgredī “to go off, depart, digress,” equivalent to dī- di-² + -gredī, combining form of gradī “to go”; cf. grade

Related formsdi·gress·er, noundi·gress·ing·ly, adverbre·di·gress, verb (used without object)

Can be confuseddigress diverge

Synonyms for digress

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1. ramble, stray.

Synonym study

1. See deviate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for digress

meander, swerve, depart, ramble, veer, drift, divagate, roam, wander

Examples from the Web for digress

Contemporary Examples of digress

But I digress, enough with the “man who wears two masks” nonsense, as if Banville must justify writing mystery novels.
Can Pulp Win the Booker?
Allen Barra
September 7, 2011

Historical Examples of digress

Anthony Despeisses was a lawyer who used frequently to digress.
The Book-Hunter at Home
P. B. M. Allan
I will digress a bit and explain how these stone-quarries were discovered.
Ten Books on Architecture
Vitruvius
Just here let me digress a moment to erect a warning signboard.
How to Cook Husbands
Elizabeth Strong Worthington
This is a digression I grant, but I cannot help it; it is the nature of man to digress.
Newton Forster
Captain Frederick Marryat
Let us digress and note the happy return of this man to English soil.
Old Taverns of New York
William Harrison Bayles

British Dictionary definitions for digress

digress

verb (intr)

to depart from the main subject in speech or writing

to wander from one's path or main direction

Derived Formsdigresser, noun

Word Origin for digress

C16: from Latin dīgressus turned aside, from dīgredī, from dis- apart + gradī to go

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for digress

1520s, from Latin digressus, past participle of digredi "to go aside, depart" (see digression), or perhaps a back-formation from digression. Related: Digressed; digressing.