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
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
And some seemingly tangential issues aren’t so tangential after all.
—Kevin Williams, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2025
Indeed, Buchwald won; the suit was famous in Hollywood circles regarding a tangential issue, namely laying bare the industry accounting practices that kept even wildly successful films from ever making a profit on paper.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Much like Kiryu's spy caper, Pirate Yakuza takes what would be tangential in the main series — a whacky combat arena — and centers a plot around it.
—James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
And some seemingly tangential issues aren’t so tangential after all.
—Kevin Williams, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2025
Indeed, Buchwald won; the suit was famous in Hollywood circles regarding a tangential issue, namely laying bare the industry accounting practices that kept even wildly successful films from ever making a profit on paper.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Much like Kiryu's spy caper, Pirate Yakuza takes what would be tangential in the main series — a whacky combat arena — and centers a plot around it.
—James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangential
Adjective
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The rise of e-commerce, particularly Amazon, led to widespread belief that traditional big-box retailers would become irrelevant dinosaurs.—
Robert Daugherty,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
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The judge ruled that evolution’s validity was irrelevant.—
Ron Grossman,
Chicago Tribune,
13 July 2025
Adjective
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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
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By 1643, René Descartes had discovered a simple relationship between the curvatures of any four circles that are tangent to each other.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
10 Aug. 2023
Adjective
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Once seen as a peripheral aspect of media, voiceover is increasingly being seen as a powerful and nuanced tool for shaping narratives, forging emotional bonds, and driving civic engagement.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
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That can certainly be useful and may lead to cost efficiencies, but there are many peripheral AI use cases that do not turn startups into AI companies overnight.—
Evan Renov,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tangential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangential. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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