"Eh? Is the tangent cosine divided by sine?" "Other way round!"
Source: tatoeba (328672)
Tangent
/ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/
Synonyms for "tangent" (105 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (21)
Strong matches (32)
Noun(10 words)
contact linecontact planecontactingdigressingdigressiondigressionsdigressiveexcursionexcursionsexcursus
Related words (52)
grazinggreat-circle coursehubimmediate neighborlooker-onmeetingmutual approachnarrowing gapneighborneighborernormalonlookerperpendicularradialradiatingradiusradius vectorright linerubbingsecant
Show 16 more words
segmentshortcutsidespokespokesstraightstraight coursestraight linestraight stretchstraightawaystreamlinetacktangentialtransversalunitingvector
Noun(9 words)
Adjective(6 words)
Verb(1 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: abutter, adjoiner, air line, airline, approach.
- Sentence evidence is available for tangent, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "tangent".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "tangent"
Keep "tangent" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "tangent" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "tangent", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "tangent" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
12 entriesMore specific
5 entriesCollocations
5 entriestangent linetangent planetangent pointtangent remarktangent space
Inflections
2 entriesmore tangentmost tangent
Derivations
3 entriesTranslations
48 translations across 43 languages.
Afrikaans
4 entries- raaklyn noun (in trigonometry)
- raaklyne noun (in trigonometry)
- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
- tangense noun (in trigonometry)
Arabic
1 entries- ظِلّ الزَّاوِيَة noun (in trigonometry)
Armenian
1 entries- տանգենս noun (in trigonometry)
Asturian
1 entries- tanxente noun (in trigonometry)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Belarusian
1 entries- та́нгенс noun (in trigonometry)
Bulgarian
1 entries- та́нгенс noun (in trigonometry)
Burmese
1 entries- တန်းဂျင့် noun (in trigonometry)
Catalan
1 entries- tangent noun (in trigonometry)
Cebuano
1 entries- liras noun (in trigonometry)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 正切 noun (in trigonometry)
Czech
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Danish
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Dutch
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Esperanto
1 entries- tangento noun (in trigonometry)
Finnish
1 entries- tangentti noun (in trigonometry)
French
1 entries- tangente noun (in trigonometry)
Galician
1 entries- tanxente noun (in trigonometry)
German
1 entries- Tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Greek
1 entries- εφαπτομένη noun (in trigonometry)
Hebrew
1 entries- טנגנס noun (in trigonometry)
Hungarian
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Icelandic
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Italian
1 entries- tangente noun (in trigonometry)
Japanese
2 entries- タンジェント noun (in trigonometry)
- 正接 noun (in trigonometry)
Khmer
1 entries- តង់សង់ noun (in trigonometry)
Korean
1 entries- 탄젠트 noun (in trigonometry)
Manx
1 entries- tanjent noun (in trigonometry)
Māori
1 entries- pātapa noun (in trigonometry)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Persian
2 entries- تانژانت noun (in trigonometry)
- ظل noun (in trigonometry)
Polish
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Portuguese
1 entries- tangente noun (in trigonometry)
Romanian
1 entries- tangentă noun (in trigonometry)
Russian
1 entries- та́нгенс noun (in trigonometry)
Spanish
1 entries- tangente noun (in trigonometry)
Swedish
1 entries- tangens noun (in trigonometry)
Tagalog
1 entries- tanway noun (in trigonometry)
Thai
1 entries- แทนเจนต์ noun (in trigonometry)
Turkish
1 entries- tanjant noun (in trigonometry)
Ukrainian
1 entries- та́нгенс noun (in trigonometry)
Vietnamese
1 entries- tang noun (in trigonometry)
Sample sentences
15 total sentences available.
Tom went off on a tangent.
Source: tatoeba (3331668)
The line s is tangent to the circumference described.
Source: tatoeba (7978780)
Stop me if I go off on a tangent.
Source: tatoeba (8356861)
Showing 4 of 15 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "tangent"?
Closest matches include abutter, adjoiner, air line, airline, approach.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "tangent"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.