Adjective

(en adjective)

Loosely associated; existing as a byproduct, tangent, or accident.

That character, though colorful, is incidental to the overall plot.

Entering or approaching, prior to reflection (more frequently incident).

Adjective

(en adjective)

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

* 2002 , Edward Teller, Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics , page 560

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.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2012-03

, author=(Henry Petroski) , title=Opening Doors , volume=100, issue=2, page=112-3 , magazine= citation , passage=A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.}}

Merely touching, positioned as a tangent.

* 1898 , Gary Nathan Calkins, Mitosis in ''Noctiluca miliaris'' and its bearing on the nuclear relations of the Protozoa and Metazoa , Ph.D. Thesis, page 3

The archoplasm divides and forms a very large spindle which first lies tangential to the surface of the nucleus.

Only indirectly related.

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