tangentiality

tangentiality
A disturbance in the associative thought process in which one tends to digress readily from one topic under discussion to other topics which arise in the course of associations; observed in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and certain types of organic brain disorders. Cf.:circumstantiality. [off on a tangent, fr. L. tango, to touch]

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tan·gen·ti·al·i·ty (tan-jen″she-alґĭ-te) a pattern of speech characterized by oblique, digressive, or irrelevant replies to questions; the responses never approach the point of the questions. It differs from circumstantiality, in which the responder eventually reaches the point.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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