facial

[fey-shuhl]

adjective

1. of the face.

   facial expression.

2. for the face.

   a facial cream.

noun

1. a treatment to beautify the face.

facial

/ ˈfeɪʃəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the face

noun

1. a beauty treatment for the face, involving cleansing, massage, and cosmetic packs

Other Word Forms

• facialist noun
• facially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of facial¹

1600–10; 1910–15 facial for def. 3; < Medieval Latin faciālis. See face, -al ¹

Example Sentences

It takes more than 100 gallons of paint to make Jack the perfect shade of orange and provide his distinctive facial features.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And how would a 2-year-old have registered a change in his father’s facial expression from confusion to resignation?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, Imrie's efforts - and facial expressions - won her more love online, with one calling her "the funniest person to have ever existed".

Read more on BBC

“There’s always something awkward about the 300- to 500-capacity venues because you can see everyone’s facial expression. That makes it a lot more nerve-racking. It’s weird that I’m less afraid the more people there are.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One well known example was a 2019 US government study which found that facial recognition algorithms were far less accurate at identifying African-American and Asian faces compared to Caucasian faces.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• exterior 
• outer 
• outward 
• shallow 
• superficial