tangential

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

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Examples: tangential in a Sentence

Editor's Note: tangential Has Mathematical Roots

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 \tan-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

There’s something to be said for allowing him to face the music, but oftentimes prospects benefit from as much tangential mystery as possible.

— jeremy woo, SI.com, "Draft Dispatch: Combine Standouts, Buzz and Luka Doncic’s Potential Return to Europe," 17 May 2018
But the firm, Columbus Nova, quickly asserted the oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, had only a tangential relationship to it, and had not used it as a conduit to pay Cohen.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Did a Russian Oligarch Funnel Money From Russia to Michael Cohen?," 25 May 2018
But the three most interesting parts of the interview were tangential to it. 1.

— peter king, SI.com, "NFC Is About to Get Real," 11 Nov. 2013
There’s no huge story arc, just minor connections that are offhand and tangential, with glancing references and winks at the audience.

— mick lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, "Ask Mick LaSalle: Don’t ignore huge story arc connecting all ‘Avengers’ movies," 9 May 2018
In contrast, Iraqi courts have sentenced hundreds of IS suspects to death in swift trials, and even tangential links to the militant group are punished by sentenced of 15 years or life.

— sarah el deeb, Fox News, "Syria's Kurds put IS on trial with focus on reconciliation," 8 May 2018
In contrast, Iraqi courts have sentenced hundreds of IS suspects to death in swift trials, and even tangential links to the militant group are punished by sentenced of 15 years or life.

— Washington Post, "Syria’s Kurds put IS on trial with focus on reconciliation," 7 May 2018
Black Panther is arguably the best movie Marvel has ever made, and its connections to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe are tangential at best.

— todd vanderwerff, Vox, "Marvel rules the world — for now," 3 May 2018
President Obama would sometimes roll his eyes at Vice President Biden’s habit of derailing meetings with tangential points.

— andy lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, "James Comey's 'A Higher Loyalty': Book Review," 16 Apr. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

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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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See words that rhyme with tangential Nglish: Translation of tangential for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of tangential for Arabic speakers

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tangential

Definition of tangential

tangentially

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tangential Has Mathematical Roots

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TANGENTIAL Defined for English Language Learners

tangential

Definition of tangential for English Language Learners

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tangentially

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