tangental Definition
- 1diverging from a previous course or line; erratic
- 2touching lightly on a subject; digressive
Using tangental: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "tangental" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
The speaker's tangential remarks made it difficult to follow his main argument.
Example
The professor's tangential comments were interesting but not relevant to the topic at hand.
Example
The book's tangential references to other works added depth to its analysis.
tangental Synonyms and Antonyms
Phrases with tangental
the component of velocity of a moving object that is perpendicular to the radius of its circular path
Example
The tangential velocity of a planet in orbit around the sun is constant.
the rate of change of tangential velocity of a moving object as it moves along a curved path
Example
The tangential acceleration of a car going around a curve is proportional to its speed and inversely proportional to the radius of the curve.
tangential force
a force acting on an object in a direction perpendicular to the object's motion
Example
The tangential force on a spinning top causes it to precess.
Summary: tangental in Brief
'Tangential' [tan-juhn-tl] describes something that diverges from a previous course or line, or touches lightly on a subject. It can refer to a speaker's remarks, a book's references, or a moving object's velocity, acceleration, or force. Synonyms include 'digressive,' 'divergent,' and 'erratic,' while antonyms include 'relevant,' 'pertinent,' and 'central.'
