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
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Recent Examples of tangents
The show includes a nightly improv section where Mindelle launches into extended tangents about everything from celebrity relationships to political scandals to whatever headline happened to hijack her brain that afternoon.
—
Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 May 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
The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
The Story Behind Gomez’s AirDrop Name In one of the episode’s more amusing tangents, Gomez shared the story behind her iPhone’s AirDrop name.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
At this point, the joke veers into tangents.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
But Streisand apparently couldn’t help herself, going off on some tangents in her post that left some respondents amused but others thinking that the entertainment legend was living up to her reputation for being self-obsessed.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2026
Brown kept getting sidetracked with tangents and non sequiturs, on topics both momentous and random.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 May 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
The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
The Story Behind Gomez’s AirDrop Name In one of the episode’s more amusing tangents, Gomez shared the story behind her iPhone’s AirDrop name.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
At this point, the joke veers into tangents.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
But Streisand apparently couldn’t help herself, going off on some tangents in her post that left some respondents amused but others thinking that the entertainment legend was living up to her reputation for being self-obsessed.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2026
Brown kept getting sidetracked with tangents and non sequiturs, on topics both momentous and random.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangents
Noun
-
There are frequent funny asides and philosophical musings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
The rapper leaned into the role’s humor, adding playful asides and earning laughs from the crowd.—
Hedy Phillips,
PEOPLE,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Reading Dyer at exactly that moment gave me permission to loosen my grip a little and allow my own digressions into the work.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
16 June 2026
-
The novel is made of math equations, lengthy jokes, digressions in Yiddish, and a whole lot of language play.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tangents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangents. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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