Tangential
/tænˈd͡ʒɛn.t͡ʃəl/ adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 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 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 Only indirectly related.
"That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us."
Adjective
- 1 of superficial relevance if any wordnet
- 2 of or relating to or acting along or in the direction of a tangent wordnet
Example
More examples"Even his everyday speech was an off-the-cuff, tangential, disjointed narrative."
Etymology
From tangent + -ial.