[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

tangential \tangen"tial\, a. geom.
   of or pertaining to a tangent; in the direction of a tangent.
   1913 webster

   tangential force mech., a force which acts on a moving
      body in the direction of a tangent to the path of the
      body, its effect being to increase or diminish the
      velocity; -- distinguished from a normal force, which acts
      at right angles to the tangent and changes the direction
      of the motion without changing the velocity.

   tangential stress. engin. see shear, n., 3.
      1913 webster
see also:
tangential force tangential stress shear 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

tangential
     adj 1: of superficial relevance if any; "a digressive allusion to
            the day of the week"; "a tangential remark" syn: digressive
     2: of or relating to or acting along or in the direction of a
        tangent; "tangential forces"
see also:
digressive 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

34 moby thesaurus words for "tangential":
   approaching, asymptotic, brushing, centripetal, centrolineal,
   concurrent, confluent, confocal, connivent, contacting, contingent,
   converging, digressive, divergent, extraneous, focal, glancing,
   grazing, impingent, impinging, in contact, irrelevant, meeting,
   mutually approaching, nudging, osculatory, peripheral, radial,
   radiating, rubbing, tangent, touching, uniting, unrelated

Tangential >> T Words
Tangential, definition of term: Tangential
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