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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tangential
Some of the protagonists have tangential connections to each other, while some are family.
—
Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
No matter the times or intervals, though, Telemundo will fill days with a variety of shows that will range from serious fútbol analysis to culture and tangential topics.
—Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Driven by a mixture of FOMO and faith in AI’s growth-at-any-cost business model, these investors and others like them have piled into virtually any company with even a tangential relationship to the AI industry.
—Allie Canal, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
Not a single line of dialogue feels unnecessary, or a subplot tangential.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
No matter the times or intervals, though, Telemundo will fill days with a variety of shows that will range from serious fútbol analysis to culture and tangential topics.
—Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Driven by a mixture of FOMO and faith in AI’s growth-at-any-cost business model, these investors and others like them have piled into virtually any company with even a tangential relationship to the AI industry.
—Allie Canal, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
Not a single line of dialogue feels unnecessary, or a subplot tangential.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangential
Adjective
-
Chase is irrelevant and swinging at the right pitch is irrelevant.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
-
Every second an irrelevant ad runs on DOOH inventory is lost revenue.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
1 June 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
-
Plenty of peripheral details also informed their research, including various forms of etiquette.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
29 May 2026
-
Recognition of a partner’s inner qualities, in other words, was not a peripheral feature of relationship quality.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tangential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangential. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
