subtendent adjective 2noun 1forms 3 adjective2 •That subtends; that lies opposite to a specified angle or point.Captain Herschel expresses doubts of this, but it is evident that as the cusps closed both must have been within the space subtendent by half the length of the slit. — 1875 •That arises from; consequent.Secularism, with its subtendent isms, may now be considered to have approached the critical or turning' point in its career. — 1882 noun1 •The side that subtends (is opposite) a specified angle; formssubtendents · more subtendent · most subtendent