tangential









tangential


adjective

  1. pertaining to or of the nature of a tangent; being or moving in the direction of a tangent.
  2. merely touching; slightly connected: tangential information.
  3. divergent or digressive, as from a subject under consideration: tangential remarks.
  4. tending to digress or to reply to questions obliquely.

adjective

  1. of, being, relating to, or in the direction of a tangent
  2. Also: transverse astronomy (of velocity) in a direction perpendicular to the line of sight of a celestial objectCompare radial (def. 6)
  3. of superficial relevance only; digressive

adj.1620s, see tangent; figurative sense of “divergent, erratic” is from 1787. Related: Tangentially.

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