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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tangential
Much like Kiryu's spy caper, Pirate Yakuza takes what would be tangential in the main series — a whacky combat arena — and centers a plot around it.
—
James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
On the page, a sequence in which Zoe and Kathryn have a testy session might read as tangential, even if the dialogue sings.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025
And, right now, any company with even a tangential connection to climate and energy is feeling a good deal of uncertainty.
—Justin Worland, TIME, 7 Feb. 2025
Their company — which also provides curbside recycling pickup services in San Jose — played a tangential role in the 2006 indictment of San Jose’s then-mayor, Ron Gonzales, on bribery charges.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tangential
James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
On the page, a sequence in which Zoe and Kathryn have a testy session might read as tangential, even if the dialogue sings.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025
And, right now, any company with even a tangential connection to climate and energy is feeling a good deal of uncertainty.
—Justin Worland, TIME, 7 Feb. 2025
Their company — which also provides curbside recycling pickup services in San Jose — played a tangential role in the 2006 indictment of San Jose’s then-mayor, Ron Gonzales, on bribery charges.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tangential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangential
Adjective
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However, this elevated P/S ratio is mostly irrelevant since MSTR's valuation is fundamentally driven by its Bitcoin holdings rather than its traditional software revenue.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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If investors are now satisfied, the underlying legal structure is irrelevant.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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The slope, or steepness, of the tangent line measures how quickly the function is changing at that point.—
Solomon Adams,
WIRED,
23 Feb. 2025
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By 1643, René Descartes had discovered a simple relationship between the curvatures of any four circles that are tangent to each other.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
10 Aug. 2023
Adjective
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Five years after the pandemic, successful retailers are using data to develop the business equivalent of peripheral vision.—
Greg Petro,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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Rieder has also recently been adding European sovereign bonds from Germany, as well as some peripheral sovereigns such as France, Ireland, Spain and Italy.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tangential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangential. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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