1
as in researcher
one who observes or studies by close examination and systematic inquiry
investigators who discovered new evidence that the universe was much older than had been previously estimated
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2
as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the investigator in charge of the case was touted as an expert at tracing stolen art
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Recent Examples of investigator
Greenberg said investigators have found 13 victims at the crash site, which matches the number of missing persons reported submitted to Louisville Metro Police.
—
Killian Baarlaer, Louisville Courier Journal, 9 Nov. 2025
Despite these measures, investigators acknowledge that Brazil’s penitentiaries remain the backbone of command and communication for its largest criminal organizations — a paradox that the state struggles to contain.
—Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
Kaiping Peng, principal investigator of the report and a professor in the Department of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences at Tsinghua University, said understanding and enhancing the well-being of the Chinese people is one of the most vital subjects today.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 9 Nov. 2025
To ensure certain pitches were called as balls, Clase threw many of them in the dirt, well outside the strike zone, according to investigators.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 9 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for investigator
Killian Baarlaer, Louisville Courier Journal, 9 Nov. 2025
Despite these measures, investigators acknowledge that Brazil’s penitentiaries remain the backbone of command and communication for its largest criminal organizations — a paradox that the state struggles to contain.
—Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
Kaiping Peng, principal investigator of the report and a professor in the Department of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences at Tsinghua University, said understanding and enhancing the well-being of the Chinese people is one of the most vital subjects today.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 9 Nov. 2025
To ensure certain pitches were called as balls, Clase threw many of them in the dirt, well outside the strike zone, according to investigators.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 9 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for investigator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for investigator
Noun
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When a mysterious and legendary skeleton, badly injured, randomly resurfaced in 2018, an interdisciplinary team of researchers went to work to find out who the person was.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
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Now, fire researchers, managers and practitioners are looking to it for answers.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Homicide detectives deemed the death suspicious and began investigating.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
11 Nov. 2025
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The show is also adding Ashley Walters, who earned an Emmy nomination for his incredible turn playing the lead detective in Netflix’s Adolescence.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Investigator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/investigator. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
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