tangent 1 of 2

noun

ˈtan-jənt How to pronounce tangent (audio)
Definition of tangentnext
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

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tangent

2 of 2

adjective

as in tangential

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 tangent
Noun
In conversation, Friedland is rapaciously curious, if slightly disorganized, prone to tangents that lead to a candidness that can verge on cringe or awkward. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2026 Even a tonally lighter mid-season tangent about two horror host streamers who stumble on an early sighting of the Human Vapor in a music video is charged with precarity and desperation. — Rory Doherty, Time, 3 July 2026
Adjective
That means mathematicians can approximate these rotations with a straight line that touches the circle at just one point — a tangent line. — Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 3 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tangent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangent
  1. aside
  2. tangential
  3. digression
  4. peripheral
  5. incidental
  6. irrelevant
Noun
  • What makes this such an exhilarating watch is how the performers navigate every passive-aggressive aside, every catty comment, every choice bit of annoying behavior played for laughs, pathos, or both at once.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2026
  • Lest anyone think that Norway’s competitive spirit has been diminished by its promotion to the round of 32, Haaland slipped in an aside that served as a reminder that his team basically rowed all the way here to the States in a longship.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of aside
Adjective
  • There is significant worry about the status of Christian Pulisic’s calf, and there’s also a bit of tangential drama here for the Australians.
    — Chris Branch, New York Times, 19 June 2026
  • But Sawyer held off on adding the amendment to House Bill 1094, a tangential bill requiring an audit of NCDOT’s ferry division.
    — DJ Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 17 June 2026
Definition of tangential
Noun
  • With its loose ends and digressions, Dream Me a Dream stays true to those idiosyncratic instincts while retaining enough of the welcoming glow of Dance of Love to make this an affecting farewell from an endearing eccentric.
    — Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Pitchfork, 22 June 2026
  • Reading Dyer at exactly that moment gave me permission to loosen my grip a little and allow my own digressions into the work.
    — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 16 June 2026
Definition of digression
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.
    — Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2026
  • The flare-up quickly transformed Lebanon from a peripheral concern into a central question hanging over the Iran war and the nascent peace talks.
    — Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 27 June 2026
Definition of peripheral
Adjective
  • American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases.
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 6 July 2026
  • There are certainly questions both about the final decision reached by match referee Rafael Claus in sending off Balogun for his incidental-looking stamp on Tarik Muharemović’s ankle, and the mechanisms used to reach it.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of incidental
Adjective
  • Horowitz said Lunas Campos’ criminal history is irrelevant to his detention.
    — Perla Trevizo, ProPublica, 3 July 2026
  • The Fan Footage Is What Counts Your concert experience is almost irrelevant.
    — Jesse Kirshbaum, SPIN, 3 July 2026
Definition of irrelevant

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tanged
tangent
tangential
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Cite this Entry

“Tangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangent. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on tangent

Nglish: Translation of tangent for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tangent

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