digress

/daɪˈɡres/ (bre, ipa) · /daɪˈɡres/ (ame, ipa) · /dī-ˈgres də-/ (ame, mw)

digress — verb

  • digresspresent simple I / you / we / they
  • digresseshe / she / it
  • digressedpast simple
  • digressing-ing form

1. to stop speaking or writing about the main point for a time and turn to another

1.動詞不及物C1
釋義

to stop speaking or writing about the main point for a time and turn to another subject instead.

例句

During the lecture, Professor Hale digressed into a story about his first teacher.

digress into + side topic

Wren apologized after digressing from the budget report to discuss train fares.

digress from + main topic

同義詞
  • stray

    less formal and often suggests losing focus accidentally

  • drift

    gentler and more gradual than 'digress'

  • go off on a tangent

    informal and often suggests going much farther from the point

反義詞

文法句型

digress from + topic/subject

digress into + side topic

digress briefly before returning to the point

用法筆記

Usually used when a speaker or writer leaves the main subject on purpose or by habit, often only for a short time. Common with 'from' or 'into', and more formal than 'go off on a tangent'.

常見錯誤

❌She digressed the main point.
✅She digressed from the main point.
💡'digress' does not take the topic as a direct object.
❌He digressed about his childhood for twenty minutes.
✅He digressed into stories about his childhood for twenty minutes.
💡'into' fits the side topic more naturally here.