Thesaurus results for TANGENTS

tangents

noun

plural of tangent

as in asides

a departure from the subject under consideration in the middle of her description of her dog's symptoms, she went off on a tangent about its cute behavior

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 tangents Its loose structure allows for a wealth of tangents, touching on everything from whether HBO shows have the right amount of nudity to the hosts’ personal lives. — Daniel Strauss, Vanity Fair, 10 Aug. 2026 In contrast to this, in regions dominated by shock waves, magnetic fields are orientated at tangents. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 July 2026 That's what happens when your star insults moviegoers or goes off on tangents about the characters's sexuality. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026 Her words prove true throughout his interview, during which Glover opens up for the first time about his life with Alzheimer's disease, often toggling between unfinished thoughts and poetic personal tangents. — Janine Rubenstein, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026 Patients call from noisy environments, talk over the system, go on tangents and don't finish sentences. — Saran Siva, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 In conversation, Friedland is rapaciously curious, if slightly disorganized, prone to tangents that lead to a candidness that can verge on cringe or awkward. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2026 June 21 – July 22 Wandering down conversational tangents will be especially tempting today. — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2026 The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender. — Nicole Winfield The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangents

Noun

The family’s alienation and the father’s divorce from the narrator’s mother are revealed through asides.

— Anna Mebel, JSTOR Daily, 17 Sep. 2026
To that end, Guadagnino occasionally makes asides to the audience, at one point trying to explain to younger viewers what the French New Wave and Cahiers du Cinéma were.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of asides

Noun

The result is a strange, bewitching experiment in autobiography, in which there are no friendships or love affairs, just exquisite digressions on life-changing texts.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
But these digressions were great theatre, with Cohn as the ringmaster.

— Kai Bird, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026