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
Examples 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
Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2024
The stories were tangents that came from my family’s individual experiences and my own in relation to them.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2024
Darren Franich, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022
Austin’s former president then went on a tangent talking about Reese’s eggs, Cap’n Crunch and berries.
—Frank Pallotta, CNN, 17 Apr. 2022
See all Example Sentences for tangent 
Noun
While the intimate Moon in your communication sector cooperates with focused Saturn in your self-expression zone, you’re equipped to identify which details are genuinely necessary to shape a coherent narrative versus which will lead off on distracting tangents.
—Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2024
The stories were tangents that came from my family’s individual experiences and my own in relation to them.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
An early tangent veers into naval warfare, with various forces fighting for crucial shipping lanes.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022
Austin’s former president then went on a tangent talking about Reese’s eggs, Cap’n Crunch and berries.
—Frank Pallotta, CNN, 17 Apr. 2022
See all Example Sentences for tangent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangent
Noun
-
For me, the film provided a welcome excuse to read up on Dylan, who has always been a reputable source of enjoyably gnomic quotes, self-mythologizing, and enigmatic asides.—
Nate Anderson,
Ars Technica,
4 Jan. 2025
-
Just as an aside for context, Dixon’s family didn’t know about the Medlock connection until the research for this seris began.—
Keith Sharon,
The Tennessean,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
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
-
That inadvertently led to one of the darkest tangential consequences of the building of the Sydney Opera House.—
Michael Y. Park,
Architectural Digest,
9 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Gottlieb followed up that social media digression by taking to X just before Wednesday’s game to give his take on whether Michigan’s Trey Burke fouled Louisville’s Peyton Siva during a block attempt in the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball national championship.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
18 Dec. 2024
-
The digression began after the talk show host flashed a photo of Posey posing with his pants down on an open highway behind his motorcycle, which the actor had posted to social media, covering his rump with a skull emoji.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Additional peripheral mounts will be released in August, including the $99 Pro Flying surfaces for a joystick and throttle, the $189 Pro Desktop desk surface for a mouse and keyboard, and the $199 Pro Racing surfaces for a steering wheel and pedals.—
Will Greenwald,
PCMAG,
9 Jan. 2025
-
In the early 2000s, the leadership team took a peripheral risk by investing in streaming technology—a bet that seemed uncertain at the time.—
ByMargie Warrell,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
This strikes me as an archetypal example of a change that is merely incidental to the actual level of spending, and that can’t be done with reconciliation.—
Dylan Matthews,
Vox,
2 Jan. 2025
-
The country’s Supreme Court, in a report that was kept sealed but reported on by Politico, rubber-stamped the hacking as incidental to legitimate state operations.—
Ronan Farrow,
The New Yorker,
20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
The reasoning is irrelevant; the curfew is non-negotiable.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
-
The lawyer also argued that his client’s conduct that day is irrelevant to his travel request.—
Michael Kunzelman,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near tangent
Cite this Entry
“Tangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangent. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share