Question

tangential The government is trying to determine if the extremists were deeply involved or if their relationship to the suspect was merely tangential. tænˈʤɛnʃəl

Accepted Answer

Touching lightly; incidental. In geometry, a tangent is a straight line that touches a curve at a single point. So we say that someone who starts talking about one thing and gets sidetracked has gone off on a tangent. The new subject is tangential to the first subject—it touches it and moves off in a different direction.

word	tangential
definition	Touching lightly; incidental.
eg_sentence	The government is trying to determine if the extremists were deeply involved or if their relationship to the suspect was merely tangential.
explanation	In geometry, a tangent is a straight line that touches a curve at a single point. So we say that someone who starts talking about one thing and gets sidetracked has gone off on a tangent. The new subject is tangential to the first subject—it touches it and moves off in a different direction.
IPA	tænˈʤɛnʃəl

Tangential Touches Touching Lightly Incidental Government Determine Extremists