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
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
Moore also worked on many causes tangential to Black nationalism, including lowering the price of milk for children and boycotting goods from Nazi Germany.
—Dara T. Mathis, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025
Both have some tangential experience of shootings in public places, a sad commentary on modern life, due to gunfire at malls where their friends either worked or were shopping.
—Sophie Comeau, NBC news, 14 Dec. 2025
His absence is especially noteworthy because of the tangential effect his acquisition had on Jones and the direction of the franchise.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 8 Jan. 2026
Moore also worked on many causes tangential to Black nationalism, including lowering the price of milk for children and boycotting goods from Nazi Germany.
—Dara T. Mathis, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025
Both have some tangential experience of shootings in public places, a sad commentary on modern life, due to gunfire at malls where their friends either worked or were shopping.
—Sophie Comeau, NBC news, 14 Dec. 2025
His absence is especially noteworthy because of the tangential effect his acquisition had on Jones and the direction of the franchise.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangential
Adjective
-
Szoboszlai’s opener will sit alongside Daniel Sturridge’s effort from the 2016 Europa League final against Sevilla in Basel in the vault of stunning Liverpool goals that were ultimately deemed irrelevant by the result.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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In this landscape, organizations such as the CDC, which once stood as unimpeachable examples of government competence, have become victims of their own success, appearing to skeptics to be inert or irrelevant.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 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
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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
-
These rights are not peripheral to democracy.—
Yohuru Williams,
The Conversation,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Porter’s moment was equally essential, yet more peripheral.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tangential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangential. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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