digress
verb
Simple meaning
Lose clarity or turn aside usually from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dygrehsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
daɪɡˈɹɛs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
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.”
intransitive
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.
intransitive
To turn aside from the right path; to transgress; to offend.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking
Used this way, digress is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It quietly approves while staying precise.
“She always digresses when telling a story.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Clear and precise
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Nearby words
- sidetrack , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use digress
- “She always digresses when telling a story.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.