faceted

American  

[fas-i-tid] / ˈfæs ɪ tɪd /

Sometimes facetted

adjective

1. having facets, or small, polished, flat surfaces, cut on it.

   Each faceted wine glass is carved carefully from pure lead-free crystal.

   A rough diamond is significantly less expensive than a faceted diamond gemstone.

2. (of rock) having a smooth surface cut by water, blowing sand, etc..

   These faceted rock fragments have been scratched and planed by rubbing against each other as they were carried along by a glacier.

3. having a number of distinct aspects or phases (used in combination).

   This oversimplification of the issue obscures what is actually a many-faceted problem.

   Here we have a dual-faceted challenge—identifying the equipment needed, and covering its cost.

4. Computers. relating to or being a search whose results are narrowed down by selecting various filters or criteria.

   Using the faceted search on this site you could, for example, try to find a book on snails for children aged six to nine, published after 2016, that costs less than $30.

5. Architecture, Furniture. (of a column) shaped like a polygon with faces cut on it.

   When remodeling my basement I replaced a plain post in the middle with a faceted column to give the room more character.

   The ad shows a large antique brass lamp with a faceted column terminating in a circular base.

6. Zoology. having more than one corneal lens, as the compound eye of an arthropod.

   Under her microscope, the gall wasp’s faceted eyes glowed in a spectrum of colors.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of facet.

Other Word Forms

• unfaceted adjective

Etymology

Origin of faceted

First recorded in 1765–75; facet ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) faceted for defs. 1, 2, 5; facet ( def. ) + -ed ³ ( def. ) faceted for defs. 3, 4, 6; facet ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) faceted for def. 7

Example Sentences

Alongside his own survey of Mont Blanc published in a monumental chromolithograph is his modest diagram of its underlying crystalline structure, as if it were a faceted gem.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

Her fractured, broken, faceted statue is Cubist in structure.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025

"There is a multi faceted transformation that needs to take place" for established automakers such as BMW, said Evangelos Simoudis, a Silicon Valley venture capital investor and expert on vehicle software strategies.

From Reuters • Sep. 2, 2023

In a moment of great danger, “the bergs are many, lavender and faceted, when the air is full of floating ice crystals.”

From Scientific American • Aug. 20, 2023

I examined the keyhole in the center of the door, then looked at the words printed directly above it, etched into the door’s faceted surface.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline