Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Characterized by digressions; rambling.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Tending to digress; departing from the main subject; partaking of the nature of digression.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Departing from the main subject; partaking of the nature of digression.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Marked by digression; rambling

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of superficial relevance if any
  • adjective (of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word digressive.

Examples

  • But that kind of digressive storytelling makes me wonder if "Mad Men" will ever truly be a crossover hit - something that rises above, say, 2 or 3 million viewers.

    unknown title 2008

  • But that kind of digressive storytelling makes me wonder if "Mad Men" will ever truly be a crossover hit - something that rises above, say, 2 or 3 million viewers.

    unknown title 2008

  • The discussion is digressive and overly credulous of literary and semi-historical sources, while scanting archeology.

    My Proposal for the Nirthers 2009

  • The discussion is digressive and overly credulous of literary and semi-historical sources, while scanting archeology.

    Stromata Blog: 2009

  • The discussion is digressive and overly credulous of literary and semi-historical sources, while scanting archeology.

    Ivy League Amusement 2009

  • The discussion is digressive and overly credulous of literary and semi-historical sources, while scanting archeology.

    Fr. Daniil Sysoyev, New Martyr, R.I.P. 2009

  • The discussion is digressive and overly credulous of literary and semi-historical sources, while scanting archeology.

    Stromata Blog: 2009

  • The discussion is digressive and overly credulous of literary and semi-historical sources, while scanting archeology.

    Must Palestine Be Judenrein? 2009

  • These detours add depth to the narrative, but the sheer volume of digressive material becomes a distraction, and Ms. Stanton struggles to identify a clear thematic, intellectual or narrative arc in Mr. Avery's activities.

    A Never-Ending Treasure Hunt Jonathan Lopez 2011

  • The discussion is digressive and overly credulous of literary and semi-historical sources, while scanting archeology.

    What’s the Rest of Ricci? 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Tending to depart from the main point. Digressive is synonymous to rambling

    November 20, 2007

  • I was thinking that there must be a form of tangent that means this, but tangential means something different.

    November 20, 2007