tangential

adjective tan·gen·tial \ tan-ˈjen(t)-shəl \

Definition of tangential

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

play \-ˈjen(t)-sh(ə-)lē\ adverb

See tangential defined for English-language learners

Examples of tangential in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of tangential from the Web

In a series of tweets, Trump said his administration was handling its responsibilities well and, in a tangential aside, hawked a book on race and crime in America written by a supporter.

— hope yen, The Seattle Times, "Trump meets and tweets as Texas gov praises Harvey response," 28 Aug. 2017
Brewer believes Callaway can boost growth through acquisitions of companies that are tangential to golf equipment.

— mike freeman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Callaway Golf's shares jump on solid earnings, TravisMathew acquisition," 4 Aug. 2017
Now a third candidate with tangential ties to northwest Baltimore County may soon enter the governor's race — Maya Rockeymoore Cummings.

— barry rascovar, baltimoresun.com, "Democratic primary field for governor likely to keep growing," 1 Aug. 2017
Our relationship over the years has been pleasant but only on brief and tangential meetings.

— Time, "Celebrating Legendary LIFE Photo Editor John G. Morris," 28 July 2017
There could be some tangential cost in Hill and Randolph making the Kings a better team ahead of schedule, but an organization can trade that possibility for the sake of building better habits.

— rob mahoney, SI.com, "Grades: George Hill, Zach Randolph Help Kings Inch Closer To Respectability," 6 July 2017
The absences raised questions in Cullerton's mind about where negotiations, particularly on the tangential Rauner demands, stand.

— Fox News, "Illinois Senate OKs tax increase; Gov. Rauner has vowed veto," 4 July 2017
Point guard Jameer Nelson, once the heart and soul of the locker room, gradually found himself in an increasingly tangential role.

— josh robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "To help Jonathan Isaac develop, the Magic must avoid the mistakes of the Rob Hennigan era," 25 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tangential.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

First Known Use of tangential

1630

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

TANGENTIAL Defined for English Language Learners

tangential

adjective

Definition of tangential for English Language Learners

: slightly or indirectly related to something : not closely connected to something
geometry : relating to a tangent : in or along a tangent

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tangential

Definition of tangential

tangentially

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tangential Has Mathematical Roots

First Known Use of tangential

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TANGENTIAL Defined for English Language Learners

tangential

Definition of tangential for English Language Learners

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tangential

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tangentially

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tangential Has Mathematical Roots

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TANGENTIAL Defined for English Language Learners

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