tangential

adjective

tan·​gen·​tial tan-ˈjen(t)-shəl 

1

a

: touching lightly : incidental, peripheral

tangential involvement

also : of little relevance

arguments tangential to the main point

b

: divergent, digressive

2

: of, relating to, or of the nature of a tangent

3

: acting along or lying in a tangent

tangential forces

tangentially

tan-ˈjen(t)-sh(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

Tangential Has Mathematical Roots

In geometry, a tangent is a straight line that touches a curve at a single point. So we say that someone who starts talking about one thing and gets sidetracked has gone off on a tangent. The new subject is tangential to the first subject—it touches it and moves off in a different direction.

Examples of tangential in a Sentence

Their romance is tangential to the book's main plot.

Recent Examples on the Web

The music felt almost secondary to apocryphal stories tangential to the music. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2025

Kaiser said if allowed to stand, the ruling will have the effect of making arson of property belonging to any entity receiving federal funding, regardless of how tangential the connection, a federal crime. —Arkansas Online, 21 July 2025

Debate over tangential issues, such as dog tethering, bogged down the bill. —Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

Often small details are inflated to comedic levels but prove tangential to the episode. —Matt Shaw, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for tangential

• credential
• prudential
• sequential
• torrential
• circumferential
• inconsequential
• consequential
• deferential
• evidential
• existential
• exponential
• influential