BharatNotes Multifaceted
adjectiveUsage in a UPSC answer
Poverty in India is a multifaceted challenge, for it is simultaneously rooted in landlessness, inadequate human capital, social exclusion and regional disparity, and therefore no single welfare scheme, however generous, can dismantle it in isolation.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
facet (n.), faceted (adj.), multifaceted (adj.), faceting (v. pres.p), facets (n. pl.)
Root
Latin multus = much, many (multi-); French facette (dim. of face) < Latin facies = form, appearance
Etymology
From multi- (combining form of Latin multus 'much, many') + faceted, from facet, from French facette, diminutive of Old French face 'face, appearance', from Latin facies 'form, appearance' (related to facere 'to make'). Originally literal (gemstones cut with many polished surfaces); figurative sense 'having many aspects' from the 1870s.
Memory Hook
Multi- (many) + facet (a flat face of a cut diamond): picture a diamond with many shining faces, each one a different aspect catching the light.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Having many sides or aspects. It is a serviceable adjective for complex problems, but it is also one of the most overused words in answer writing, where it often replaces analysis rather than introducing it. Saying a problem is multifaceted earns nothing; naming the facets and showing how they interact earns the marks the word is standing in for.
Don’t Confuse It With
Multifaceted has many aspects. Complex has many interacting parts whose behaviour is hard to predict, which is a stronger claim. Multidimensional is used technically for measurement across several axes, as in multidimensional poverty. Complicated has many parts but is in principle fully analysable.
Hindi Meaning
बहुआयामी (bahuāyāmī).
Common Questions
- What does multifaceted mean?
- Having many different aspects or sides.
- Why is multifaceted considered overused in answer writing?
- Because stating that an issue has many aspects adds nothing on its own. The marks come from naming those aspects and showing how they interact.
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