aside.

1. A remark directed away from the main exchange, especially a stage utterance meant for the audience but not other characters.

2. To one side, away, or out of immediate consideration.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a theatrical aside
• an aside to the reader

On the page

Her theatrical aside gave the audience a reason to doubt the promise.

An aside to the reader exposed the narrator’s impatience without stopping the scene.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Singular aside; plural asides. Also an invariable adverb. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.