tangentiality
Veering off course
Tangentiality is a pattern of speech or thought that drifts away from the point without returning to it.
In psychiatry and psychology, it describes responses that veer off-topic—the speaker addresses a question but gradually wanders into unrelated territory: Asked about her job, she talked about weather patterns in Norway.
Distinguished from circumstantiality, where the speaker eventually circles back.
The term extends loosely to any tendency toward digression.
Long-winded and unfocused
- circumlocutorySpeaking in circles
- meanderingFollowing a winding course
- digressiveTending to stray topically
- discursiveTending to wander topically
off-topic · nonlinear · anecdotal · parenthetical · aside · non-sequitur · interjection · elliptical
Having no link
- extraneousNot pertinent or essential
- peripheralExternal computer add-on
- incidentalMinor and unplanned
- immaterialLacking physical form; unimportant
nonessential · inconsequential · inapplicable · unconnected · moot · superfluous · gratuitous · impertinent
Act of going away
- detourAlternate path around obstruction
- excursionBrief recreational trip
- divagationStraying from the point
- asideBrief theatrical digression
deviation · meander · drift · segue · interlude · diversion · sidetrack · wandering
Psychotic disorder with delusions
- maniaIntense, consuming obsession
- circumstantialityExcessive irrelevant elaboration
- derailmentLeaving the intended track
- disorganizedLacking systematic arrangement
incoherence · word-salad · psychosis · distractibility · overinclusion
Trig ratio, 1/cos
- chordNotes sounded simultaneously
- touchingEvoking gentle emotion
- curveSmooth, angleless line
- circleCurved closed shape
arc · slope · derivative · inflection · perpendicular · intersection · asymptote · limit
rambling
Long-winded and unfocused
- circumlocutorySpeaking in circles
- meanderingFollowing a winding course
- digressiveTending to stray topically
discursive · off-topic · nonlinear · anecdotal · parenthetical · aside · non-sequitur · interjection · elliptical · disjointed
unrelated
Having no link
- extraneousNot pertinent or essential
- peripheralExternal computer add-on
- incidentalMinor and unplanned
immaterial · nonessential · inconsequential · inapplicable · unconnected · moot · superfluous · gratuitous · impertinent · inapposite
departure
Act of going away
- detourAlternate path around obstruction
- excursionBrief recreational trip
- divagationStraying from the point
aside · deviation · meander · drift · segue · interlude · diversion · sidetrack · wandering · straying
schizophrenia
Psychotic disorder with delusions
- maniaIntense, consuming obsession
- circumstantialityExcessive irrelevant elaboration
- derailmentLeaving the intended track
disorganized · incoherence · word-salad · psychosis · distractibility · overinclusion
secant
Trig ratio, 1/cos
circle · arc · slope · derivative · inflection · perpendicular · intersection · asymptote · limit · approach
tangentialitydirectness
Quality of being straightforward
relevance · getting to the point · pertinence · conciseness · succinctness
tangentialitycoherence
Logical internal consistency
linear thinking · logical progression · circumstantiality · systematic thinking · cogency
tangentialityfocus
Concentrated attention point
concentration · single-mindedness · steadfastness · fixedness
contingency, contingent, tangent, tangential, contingently, tangency, tangentially, tangents