as in aside
a departure from the subject under consideration
in the middle of her description of her dog's symptoms, she went off on a tangent about its cute behavior
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in tangential
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tangent
Margaret Lyons, EW.com, 17 Jan. 2025
On a different topic but related tangent, even lawyers have gotten caught off-guard by overly relying on AI to provide legal expertise when the AI was completely mistaken, see my analysis at the link here.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Anatola Araba, ELLE, 1 Sep. 2022
An early tangent veers into naval warfare, with various forces fighting for crucial shipping lanes.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for tangent
Noun
Betty White's sweet, ever-cheery Rose — a role that snagged her an Emmy Award in 1986 — may not have all the zingers on The Golden Girls, but her rants and tangents draw priceless looks from her housemates and adoration from viewers.
—Margaret Lyons, EW.com, 17 Jan. 2025
On a different topic but related tangent, even lawyers have gotten caught off-guard by overly relying on AI to provide legal expertise when the AI was completely mistaken, see my analysis at the link here.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
This imaginary friend guides him through the tangent universe, encourages him to commit a series of crimes, and ends up triggering a chain of supernatural events.
—Anatola Araba, ELLE, 1 Sep. 2022
An early tangent veers into naval warfare, with various forces fighting for crucial shipping lanes.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for tangent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangent
Noun
-
Sometimes, his wisecracks and confessional asides come as a direct address.—
Lisa Kennedy,
The Denver Post,
7 Feb. 2025
-
Should the tale of a 600-year-old artist, with its technical asides on the art of the fresco, come before the tale of modern-day teenage angst?—
Adam Begley,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Is that a fair, if perhaps tangential, limning of this sinister quality that your poems sometimes have?—
Corey Seymour,
Vogue,
6 Feb. 2025
-
The main selling point of our domains may be the metaphor or emotional invocations, so the connection to keywords is tangential or opaque.—
Darpan Munjal,
Forbes,
22 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Organizational and systems theories suggest that introducing an organizing entity into a competitive environment can minimize digression, maximize synergy, and optimize performance—provided common goals and shared values exist.—
Luis E. Romero,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
-
To sustain that illusion, Corbet also sticks with a conventional, unquestioned naturalism, a straightforward narrative continuity that proceeds as if on tracks and allows for none of the seeming digressions and spontaneity that would make its characters feel real.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Waldock said the helicopter pilots, with their night vision goggles interfering with their peripheral vision, may have wrongly focused on a plane that took off just before the collision.—
Gary Fields,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2025
-
The worms migrate through the blood or along peripheral nerves to get to the central nervous system.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The central plot, about two characters thrown together by circumstance, begins to feel entirely incidental and metaphorical beyond a point.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Although Martinez hasn’t found Cleopatra's tomb yet, her other incidental discoveries attest to the richness of the ancient city and temple.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
That's a day where those two objects are completely irrelevant.—
Mark Joseph,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
-
All that’s missing from this run for Sampson is a national title, but whether that comes or not, this is a legendary stretch at a school that was a has-been, irrelevant in the sport with no sign of hope.—
CJ Moore,
The Athletic,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangent. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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