as in irrelevant
having little to do with the matter at hand
Your point is tangential to the main objective of this meeting so please save it for later.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tangential
The Houthis made a similar threat during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and killed at least nine mariners and sank four ships in over 100 attacks, often targeting vessels with tangential or no ties to Israel.
—
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026
There have been a few tangential PigPen sightings in the state before now.
—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
31 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026
There have been a few tangential PigPen sightings in the state before now.
—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
31 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangential
Adjective
-
Without ownership, documentation becomes a museum exhibit that may be informative but irrelevant.
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No detail, no matter how incomplete or far-fetched, was irrelevant to their search.
Adjective
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That means mathematicians can approximate these rotations with a straight line that touches the circle at just one point — a tangent line.
Adjective
-
The National Marrow Donor Program had matched him with a woman battling a rare blood disease, calling on him to donate peripheral blood stem cells through a long blood draw.
-
The flare-up quickly transformed Lebanon from a peripheral concern into a central question hanging over the Iran war and the nascent peace talks.
Cite this Entry
“Tangential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangential. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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