Adjacent Words

Digress definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DIGRESS, v.i. [L., to step. See Grade.]
1. Literally, to step or go from the way or road; hence, to depart or wander from the main subject, design or tenor of a discourse, argument or narration; used only of speaking or writing.
In the pursuit of an argument there is hardly room to digress into a particular definition, as often as a man varies the signification of any term.
2. To go out of the right way or common track; to deviate; in a literal sense. [Not now in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking; "She always digresses when telling a story"; "her mind wanders"; "Don't digress when you give a lecture" [syn: digress, stray, divagate, wander]
2: wander from a direct or straight course [syn: sidetrack, depart, digress, straggle]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb Etymology: Latin digressus, past participle of digredi, from dis- + gradi to step — more at grade Date: 1529 to turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument Synonyms: see swerve

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.intr. depart from the main subject temporarily in speech or writing. Derivatives: digresser n. digression n. digressive adj. digressively adv. digressiveness n. Etymology: L digredi digress- (as DI-(2), gradi walk)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Digress Di*gress", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Digressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Digressing.] [L. digressus, p. p. of digredi to go apart, to deviate; di- = dis- + gradi to step, walk. See Grade.] 1. To step or turn aside; to deviate; to swerve; especially, to turn aside from the main subject of attention, or course of argument, in writing or speaking. Moreover she beginneth to digress in latitude. --Holland. In the pursuit of an argument there is hardly room to digress into a particular definition as often as a man varies the signification of any term. --Locke. 2. To turn aside from the right path; to transgress; to offend. [R.] Thy abundant goodness shall excuse This deadly blot on thy digressing son. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Digress Di*gress", n. Digression. [Obs.] --Fuller.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(digresses, digressing, digressed) If you digress, you move away from the subject you are talking or writing about and talk or write about something different for a while. I've digressed a little to explain the situation so far, so let me now recap... She digressed from her prepared speech to pay tribute to the President. VERB: V, V from n • digression (digressions) The text is dotted with digressions. N-VAR

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. Wander, deviate or divergence or turn aside from one's main topic.

Moby Thesaurus

bear off, bend, branch off, bypass, change the bearing, curve, depart, depart from, detour, deviate, divagate, divaricate, diverge, drift, excurse, get sidetracked, go around, go astray, go round about, heel, make a detour, maunder, ramble, roam, sheer, shift, stray, swerve, tack, trend, turn, turn aside, vary, veer, wander