Tangential

//tænˈd͡ʒɛn.t͡ʃəl// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Referring to a tangent, moving at a tangent to something.

    "The meteor came in on a tangential orbit and exploded about 8 or 10 miles above the earth's surface, just south of the Arctic Circle."

  2. 2
    Merely touching, positioned as a tangent.

    "The archoplasm divides and forms a very large spindle which first lies tangential to the surface of the nucleus."

  3. 3
    Only indirectly related.

    "That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us."

Adjective
  1. 1
    of superficial relevance if any wordnet
  2. 2
    of or relating to or acting along or in the direction of a tangent wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
digressiveapproachingasymptoticbrushingcentripetalcentrolineal

Antonyms

All antonyms
normal

Example

More examples

"Even his everyday speech was an off-the-cuff, tangential, disjointed narrative."

Etymology

From tangent + -ial.

Related phrases

tangential triangletangential velocity

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.