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
Olivier Schrauwen, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Trump’s responses were angry, rambling and went on tangents that took him far off course from favorable political ground.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Sep. 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
Interspersed throughout Thibault’s day and his thoughts are subplots and tangents, some real, others imagined.
—Olivier Schrauwen, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Trump’s responses were angry, rambling and went on tangents that took him far off course from favorable political ground.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Sep. 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
-
Perhaps Starboard could do without the occasional asides about removing CEOs at other companies, which ended up getting misquoted and misconstrued into highly disrespectful, unwarranted, and premature calls for Bourla’s removal.Owen Tripp, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2024
-
As an aside, Musk’s takeover of Twitter/X is a completely different scenario.Mark Weinstein, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Not all of the figures are directly connected to Handel, and at times King’s deep background verges on the tangential.Jan Swafford, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024
-
One of the clear, if tangential, takeaways from Monsó’s book is that predation is a very tough business.Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
His whole digression into crypto bros and podcast listeners has been all over my For You pages this week, and for good reason.David Pierce, The Verge, 27 Oct. 2024
-
As Tomlinson asks Chocolate about their dating decisions at 4:14, the audience seems delighted to leave the heavy topics of mental illness and fatherly failure and follow her on a Gary Gulman–esque digression into fantasyland.John Roy, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2024
Adjective
-
Those settlements show another, quieter front in China’s expanding efforts to assert its control over disputed, peripheral territories – also playing out in the South and East China Seas – as Chinese leader Xi Jinping seeks to bolster national security and enhance China’s position over its rivals.Simone McCarthy, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
-
There’s also very clear softness and smearing in your peripheral vision.Andrew Williams, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Given the rocket is not intended to land in water, whatever happened after splashdown was incidental to what can only be called a successful test flight.William Harwood, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2024
-
The few traces of pleasure to be found in Disclaimer are typically incidental to the action.Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
What works in one country might be irrelevant—or even offensive—in another.Stephen Sokoler, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
-
Possession of a weapon is irrelevant and mistakes happen, Stephens said in court, adding that Hill’s hand was presented with a glint of steel.Deon J. Hampton, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near tangent
Cite this Entry
“Tangent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangent. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share