tangential

adjective

tan·​gen·​tial tan-ˈjen(t)-shəl 

1

a

: touching lightly : incidental, peripheral

tangential involvement

also : of little relevance

arguments tangential to the main point

b

: divergent, digressive

2

: of, relating to, or of the nature of a tangent

3

: acting along or lying in a tangent

tangential forces

tangentially

tan-ˈjen(t)-sh(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

Tangential Has Mathematical Roots

In geometry, a tangent is a straight line that touches a curve at a single point. So we say that someone who starts talking about one thing and gets sidetracked has gone off on a tangent. The new subject is tangential to the first subject—it touches it and moves off in a different direction.

Examples of tangential in a Sentence

Their romance is tangential to the book's main plot.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kidd’s relationship to the trade, even if tangential, became a defining point in his tenure as the Mavericks’ head coach. —Mac Engel may 20, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 May 2026

Instead of solving the full optimization problem in a brute-force way, TFC allows key physical constraints (like leaving Earth in a tangential burn) to be built directly into the mathematical formulation. —Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 17 May 2026

Over the coming months, the police remained tight-lipped about their investigation, with updates often emerging in tangential court documents. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026

And though Russia is playing only a tangential role in the crisis there, Moscow could emerge as one of the victors of war. —Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for tangential

• credential
• prudential
• sequential
• torrential
• circumferential
• inconsequential
• consequential
• deferential
• existential
• exponential
• influential
• nonessential