SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
digression
noun
A departure from the main subject or line of thought.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Departure from the main subject
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topAn excursus may be a deliberate detailed discussion; digression can be planned or accidental.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See digression in use
A brief digression about the author's childhood interrupted the argument.
For the next reading, Leon prepared a short introduction to elucidate the relationship between two narrators. He used the colloquial phrase 'keep an eye on the dates' because the event was informal. A rehearsal revealed one distracting digression about how he bought his notebook. The story amused his friends, but it did not help listeners understand the chapter.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license