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I'm working on a filtered search. While the term "filter" perfectly describes its functionality, some of the parts being filtered are...filters. There might be some confusion with users thinking of actual filters and not filters for the search engine.

Are there any other generally accepted terms for a set of terms meant to reduce a search result set?

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    If you are looking for a verb TotemFlare has some nice suggestions. If you are looking for a noun, you could consider "criteria". These are after all what the filtering process uses to filter the items available. Jul 13, 2013 at 10:32
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    Why not just shorten "Filtered search" to "Search"? Of course, if you have not both filter and search in your parts ). Jul 15, 2013 at 16:52
  • I'd use the term "advanced search" if you have a simple search box separated from these filters that can be called a regular "search".
    – solarc
    Oct 4, 2017 at 22:54

2 Answers 2

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You can do pretty much anything by combining a verb from group A and a noun from group B:

Group A

  • Refine

  • Filter

  • Narrow

  • Sort by etc.

Group B

  • Results
  • Options etc.

Keep in mind the existing microcopy on your site to make sure it fits into the whole UX. I'm sure there are more options, combos, etc. Hope that helps.

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A common term used for the controls that assist in filtering search results is "facets".

A specific "facet" might be a filter, or a combination of filters.

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