How to use tangential in a sentence

13 example sentences · adjective

Tangential means referring to a tangent, moving at a tangent to something. Example: “That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.”

Examples of tangential by meaning

adjectiveReferring to a tangent, moving at a tangent to something.

The meteor came in on a tangential orbit and exploded about 8 or 10 miles above the earth's surface, just south of the Arctic Circle.2002, Edward Teller, Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics, page 560
Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.2012 March, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3

adjectiveOnly indirectly related.

That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.

More sentences with tangential

The spokes on most modern bicycle wheels are tangential to the hub rather than radial.From the entry radial
Rumor is she still has tangential ties to the company, but at least those aren't lawsuitable."2013, Nicolas, Banksters, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, →ISBN. From the entry lawsuitable
We don’t really know, but some tangential studies infer it’s to do with a mixture of personality, status-signalling and group identification.2017 May 30, David Steele, “Why do pedants pedant?”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN…. From the entry pedant
Homohedral and tangential polyhedral shapes are found to be suitable for the task and some examples of linkages are worked out.2013, G. Kiper, E. Söylemez, “Homohedral and Tangential Polyhedral Linkages”, in Fernando Viadero, Marco Ceccarelli, editors, New Trends…. From the entry homohedral
There are three important things to keep in mind about the tangential and radial directions in a rift-sawn board.1999, Dave Gerr, The Elements of Boat Strength: For Builders, Designers, and Owners, →ISBN, page 86. From the entry rift-sawn
Social ecology, as it has been taught in Australia and elsewhere, is a broad, deep and tangential (out of the box) area of study.2020, “Preface”, in David Wright, Stuart B. Hill, editors, Social Ecology and Education, Routledge, →ISBN. From the entry social ecology
He had no interest in "poetics" or in literary politics and only the most tangential relations to any school or circle of poets.2009, Henry Weinfield, The Music of Thought in the Poetry of George Oppen and William Bronk. From the entry isolato
Under certain conditions tangential sections indicate that the zoœcial walls and the intermural space are seemingly pierced by communication pores or connecting foramina.1903, Ray Smith Bassler, The Structural Features of the Bryozoan Genus Homotrypa, with Descriptions of Species from the Cincinnatian…. From the entry pore
They might involve the unfolding of a dramatic elaboration or a lengthy tangential or circumstantial commentary, on the one hand; or they may be crisply overspecific, on the other.2013, James H. Kleiger, Disordered Thinking and the Rorschach: Theory, Research, and Differential Diagnosis, Routledge, →ISBN, page 182. From the entry overspecific
The fourth derivative (jounce) may be used to find the tangential and normal loci in the same manner as for the second and third order properties.1974, Arvid Myklebust, “Recommendations and Conclusions”, in Synthesis of Multi-link Mechanisms for Dynamic Specifications: A Dissertation…. From the entry jounce

Meaning of tangential

adjective Referring to a tangent, moving at a tangent to something.
adjective Merely touching, positioned as a tangent.
adjective Only indirectly related.

Full definition of tangential

Questions about tangential in a sentence

How do you use tangential in a sentence?: Tangential is used as an adjective. For example: “That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.”
What is a short sentence with tangential?: “That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.”
What does tangential mean?: Tangential means referring to a tangent, moving at a tangent to something.

Adapted from Wiktionary: tangential (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use tangential in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/tangential. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.