CIRCUMSTANTIAL THINKING: an inability to differentiate the essential from the unessential. The patient gets lost in insignificant details without losing track of the question. TANGENTIAL THINKING: talking past or around the point; thoughts diverge from the topic..

Similarly, what is the difference between tangential and flight of ideas? Unlike in flight of ideas, circumstantiality contains tighter and more coherent associations that may be easier to follow or understand. Unlike tangential speakers, those who are circumstantial eventually arrive back at the main point of speech or the answer to a question.

Beside this, what does tangential speech mean?

Tangential speech or tangentiality is a communication disorder in which the train of thought of the speaker wanders and shows a lack of focus, never returning to the initial topic of the conversation.

What does it mean to have a circumstantial thought process?

Circumstantiality (also circumstantial thinking, or circumstantial speech) - An inability to answer a question without giving excessive, unnecessary detail. This differs from tangential thinking, in that the person does eventually return to the original point.