as in irrelevant
having little to do with the matter at hand
Your point is tangential to the main objective of this meeting so please save it for later.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tangential
And studies show that maintaining even a small set of meaningful professional relationships has a stronger impact on career opportunities than amassing hundreds of weak or tangential connections.
—
Kathy Caprino, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Homelessness — and affordability, housing availability and myriad other issues tangential to a very visible problem in California — is among the many concerns Californians have that the bevy of gubernatorial candidates will be asked to address as the campaign for governor continues this year.
—Linh Tat, Oc Register, 18 Jan. 2026
And yet off the court, an eventful period to say the least, in several cases with a degree of Heat impact, some directly, some tangential.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Since its 2023 debut, Peacock's The Traitors has captured the zeitgeist thanks to its motley crew of actors, comedians, reality TV stars, and tangential British royalty.
—Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Kathy Caprino, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Homelessness — and affordability, housing availability and myriad other issues tangential to a very visible problem in California — is among the many concerns Californians have that the bevy of gubernatorial candidates will be asked to address as the campaign for governor continues this year.
—Linh Tat, Oc Register, 18 Jan. 2026
And yet off the court, an eventful period to say the least, in several cases with a degree of Heat impact, some directly, some tangential.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Since its 2023 debut, Peacock's The Traitors has captured the zeitgeist thanks to its motley crew of actors, comedians, reality TV stars, and tangential British royalty.
—Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangential
Adjective
-
In sports like running, this sort of physical awareness is less important (though not entirely irrelevant).—
Alex Hutchinson,
Outside,
22 Mar. 2026
-
These virtues are not irrelevant relics.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That means mathematicians can approximate these rotations with a straight line that touches the circle at just one point — a tangent line.—
Leila Sloman,
Quanta Magazine,
3 Dec. 2025
-
The slope, or steepness, of the tangent line measures how quickly the function is changing at that point.—
Solomon Adams,
WIRED,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Inner circle role Within that system, prosecutors portray Maduro not as a peripheral figure but as a central architect.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The guardians of knowledge have customarily deemed the history and experience of Asian Americans to be inessential or peripheral to all levels of American education.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tangential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangential. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
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