as in investigators
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the code used by the serial killer in his letters to the police was actually cracked by an amateur detective
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Recent Examples of detectives
Late on December 22, for example, mere hours after the shooting, detectives visited Barry and James, both of them still in the ER with conditions listed as critical, to record their official statements.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
For five years, detectives looked for Townsend.
—Jermont Terry, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Authorities have not confirmed the victims’ identities or their relationship to one another, though detectives believe the shooting was a murder-suicide, sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt.
—Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Homicide detectives arrived at the scene to investigate.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
New York City detectives say they were treated rudely and disrespectfully last week after they were mistaken for federal immigration agents while seeking treatment at a hospital after an arrest.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 22 Jan. 2026
San Diego police child abuse detectives are handling the investigation.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
The police—foremost three detectives, played by John Douglas Thompson, LaChanze, and Dean Winters—lend David additional muscle.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
Rivera said that detectives told her Xion was found on top of two of his little siblings after the shooting.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2025
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
For five years, detectives looked for Townsend.
—Jermont Terry, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Authorities have not confirmed the victims’ identities or their relationship to one another, though detectives believe the shooting was a murder-suicide, sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt.
—Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Homicide detectives arrived at the scene to investigate.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
New York City detectives say they were treated rudely and disrespectfully last week after they were mistaken for federal immigration agents while seeking treatment at a hospital after an arrest.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 22 Jan. 2026
San Diego police child abuse detectives are handling the investigation.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
The police—foremost three detectives, played by John Douglas Thompson, LaChanze, and Dean Winters—lend David additional muscle.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
Rivera said that detectives told her Xion was found on top of two of his little siblings after the shooting.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detectives
Noun
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The investigators and May expressed concern that DeCristo had not addressed her actions.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
8 Jan. 2026
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Parents of students with disabilities have increasingly resorted to filing complaints with the state over their schools’ failure to educate their children, and most of the time, state investigators have agreed.—
Becca Savransky,
Idaho Statesman,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Set against escalating Arctic ambitions by Russia and China, the story follows a Finnish family of operatives navigating military conflict, biological warfare, and global espionage as geopolitical tensions reach breaking point.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2026
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The Game of Thrones alum stars alongside Haley Lu Richardson in the new Peacock thriller series, which follows Bea (Clarke) and Twila (Richardson), two widows of CIA agents who take their husbands' places in Moscow as CIA operatives.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detectives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detectives. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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