tangentially

American  

[tan-jen-shuh-lee] / tænˈdʒɛn ʃə li /

Rarely tangentally

adverb

1. in a way that barely touches or involves someone or something.

   The subject’s tempestuous first marriage is only tangentially dealt with in the biography.

2. in a way that is only slightly related or relevant.

   The novel dedicates a huge amount of space to characters and events that are, at most, tangentially connected to the main plot.

3. in a divergent or digressive way.

   Whether or not this is easier, as I have tangentially mentioned, is in fact a difficult question.

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Other Word Forms

• nontangentially adverb
• untangentially adverb

Etymology

Origin of tangentially

tangential ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

When he is, he addresses it briefly, sometimes tangentially, and moves on.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

There are many aspects of the recent selloff that are concerning, with anything tangentially threatened by AI getting hit hard.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

From the bench to the C-suite, no position of honor or authority would be entrusted to anyone even tangentially connected to the madness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

Peirano brought along his friend Pablo Ilabaca, the guitarist and composer of Chilean rock band Chancho en Piedra, who tangentially had created tracks that could work for the show.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

Temple touched on it only tangentially in his essay; it recedes into the background again in Swift’s Battle of the Books.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton