Digress

Practice This Word

To depart from the main subject temporarily; to speak or write about something other than the main topic.

verb

Digress

To depart from the main subject temporarily; to speak or write about something other than the main topic.

verb

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Imagine This

If you are defocused and constantly move away from the main subject during your study, you are getting away from making progress.

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Sounds Like

dih-GRESS

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Looks Like

Di-gress (looks like 'di' + 'gress'; related to 'progress' which also ends with 'gress')

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Remember This

Digress comes from Latin digredi, meaning to depart or go away; the -gress root means 'to go' and is related to words like progress, regress, and egress.

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Other Forms

digressionnoun

digressiveadjective

digressivelyadverb

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Connect With

progress, regress, egress, transgress, gress root words

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Note

Avoid digressions in formal writing; digress only when the off-topic remark enriches the main point or illustrates it, and return promptly to the topic.

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Study Deeper

Examples

During the lecture, the professor began to digress about her childhood.
Her essay should avoid digressions that wander from the thesis and blur the main argument.

Synonyms

deviatedivergeramblemeanderwander

Antonyms

focusconcentratestay on topic

Etymology

From Latin digredi, digressus 'to go away'; di- (apart) + gredi (to go). Related to progress (progredi) and gress (to go).

Mnemonic

Di-gress = to go away: remember that 'di' means apart and 'gress' means to go, so digress literally means to go away from the topic.