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Pungent vs Tangent - What's the difference?

pungent | tangent |

As adjectives the difference between pungent and tangent

is that pungent is having a strong odor that stings the nose, said especially of acidic or spicy substances while tangent is touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.

As a noun tangent is

a straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.

pungent

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having a strong odor that stings the nose, said especially of acidic or spicy substances.
  • The lasagne included plenty of pungent garlic.
  • * 1991 , , Concrete: American Christmas , Dark Horse Books
  • I can almost smell the fir scent… resinous, pungent .
  • Having a strong taste that stings the tongue, said especially of hot (spicy) food, which has a strong and sharp or bitter taste.
  • Stinging; acerbic.
  • The critic gave a pungent review.
  • Having a sharp and stiff point.
  • Derived terms

    * pungence * pungently

    tangent

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (geometry) A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
  • (trigonometry) In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the side adjacent to the angle. Symbols: tan, tg
  • A topic nearly unrelated to the main topic, but having a point in common with it.
  • I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne
  • , title=Well Tackled! , chapter=1 citation , passage=“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent . “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”}}
  • * 2009 : Stuart Heritage], [http://www.hecklerspray.com/ Hecklerspray] , Friday the 22nd of May in 2009 at 1 o’clock p.m., “[http://www.hecklerspray.com/jon-kate-latest-people-you-dont-know-do-crap-you-dont-care-about/200934378.php Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About
  • Jon & Kate Plus 8'' is a show based on two facts: (1)''' Jon and Kate Gosselin have eight children, and '''(2)''' the word ‘Kate’ rhymes with the word ‘eight’. One suspects that if Kate were ever to have another child, a shady network executive would urge her to put it in a binbag with a brick and drop it down a well. But this is just a horrifying ' tangent .
  • A small metal blade by which a clavichord produces sound.
  • Derived terms

    * arctangent * cotangent * hyberbolic tangent

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (geometry) Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
  • Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
  • See also

    * cosine * non sequitur * sine * trigonometry ----