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

At times, Pinho includes dry scenes where tangential characters address the camera with historical facts. —Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 28 May 2025

Baby Billy’s success or failure is tangential to the Gemstones at large, so the writing (and Goggins’s performance) can be as liberated as Billy’s ball sack. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025

That’s just one of many tangential critiques the director lobs at Brazilian society in a movie that might have clocked in well under two hours without such digressions. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 18 May 2025

By eschewing administrative bloat and tangential initiatives, Brand New’s small team remains agile and free to react quickly to clients’ needs and cultural moments like Coachella or Fashion Week. —Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 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