tangentially
Americanadverb
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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.
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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.
-
in a divergent or digressive way.
Whether or not this is easier, as I have tangentially mentioned, is in fact a difficult question.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tangentially
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 transport sector, which tends to be associated with the non-tech part of the market, given that it includes shares of airlines, railroad operators and trucking companies, is also tangentially benefiting from AI growth.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
When he is, he addresses it briefly, sometimes tangentially, and moves on.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 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
In these bumpers, the cast of a “Housewives” show line up next to one another and hold up an object that tangentially relates to whatever city the cast lives in.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 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
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.
