tangential
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or of the nature of a tangent; being or moving in the direction of a tangent.
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merely touching; slightly connected.
tangential information.
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divergent or digressive, as from a subject under consideration.
tangential remarks.
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tending to digress or to reply to questions obliquely.
adjective
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of, being, relating to, or in the direction of a tangent
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Also: transverse. astronomy (of velocity) in a direction perpendicular to the line of sight of a celestial object Compare radial
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of superficial relevance only; digressive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tangential
Explanation
Tangential describes something that's not part of the whole. If you make a comment that is tangential to the story you're telling, it's a digression. The story could still be understood without it. In geometry, a tangent is a line that touches a curve in one spot but doesn't intersect it anywhere else. Tangential means something that goes off in one direction that way and doesn't return. People can feel tangential — as though they're inessential and not relevant to a larger group.
Vocabulary lists containing tangential
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Common Senses: Tact, Tang ("Touch")
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The creator of ‘How to With John Wilson’ makes his feature debut with a documentary that moves beyond its nominal subject to become a gleefully tangential odyssey of art and life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
"It's getting a lot of Swifties who just want a tangential piece of the wedding," said Justin Gignac, who is selling the trash on his website New York City Garbage.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Several of the chapters, about particle accelerators and fusion reactors, take readers on cursory tours of facilities that have at best a tangential connection to space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Jordan Weiss’ script is so tangential to the movie’s charms that things would feel pretty much the same if Harper and Lily had traded places, or honestly, if no one swapped at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025
The Coriolis effect happens because of the difference between these two tangential velocities.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
