Thesaurus results for TANGENTS

tangents

noun

plural of tangent

as in asides

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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tangents June 21 – July 22 Wandering down conversational tangents will be especially tempting today. —

Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2026 The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender. —

Nicole Winfield The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026 The original investigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender. —

ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026 The Story Behind Gomez’s AirDrop Name In one of the episode’s more amusing tangents, Gomez shared the story behind her iPhone’s AirDrop name. —

Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026 At this point, the joke veers into tangents. —

Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026 But Streisand apparently couldn’t help herself, going off on some tangents in her post that left some respondents amused but others thinking that the entertainment legend was living up to her reputation for being self-obsessed. —

Martha Ross, Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2026 Brown kept getting sidetracked with tangents and non sequiturs, on topics both momentous and random. —

Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026 But rather than let meta references guide the plot, the half-hour sitcom takes off on wild tangents that are easy to get lost in, even when that’s not the main intention. —

Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangents

Noun

Elizabeth continues to be an infuriating character, interrupting with rude and unhelpful asides throughout the entire family meeting, casually gnawing on an orange slice as Greg and Katie have a heart-to-heart across the table.

— Erin Qualey, Vulture, 11 May 2026
The Artemis crew is now in a lunar flyby, during which they're expected to see both the near and far asides of the moon and engage in intense lunar observation.

— CBS News, CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026