as in operating
being in effective operation
a fully operational oil refinery
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of operational
Znotins said American started its partnership with Landline when the airline was short on pilots coming out of the pandemic and saw bus rides as an operational solution.
—
Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
All of this ancient-looking hardware was tasked with overseeing the operational safety of the Voyager craft, which are currently well over 16 billion miles from Earth in interstellar space.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 2 Apr. 2026
The program will begin in July, with the first payout coming in the fall to store employees who meet or exceed specific sales, operational and customer service metrics, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams and Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly wrote in a memo to employees on Thursday.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
Critically, both projects rely on modular units that are expensive to deploy, and once operational, can’t be upgraded or even repaired.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for operational
Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
All of this ancient-looking hardware was tasked with overseeing the operational safety of the Voyager craft, which are currently well over 16 billion miles from Earth in interstellar space.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 2 Apr. 2026
The program will begin in July, with the first payout coming in the fall to store employees who meet or exceed specific sales, operational and customer service metrics, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams and Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly wrote in a memo to employees on Thursday.
—Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
Critically, both projects rely on modular units that are expensive to deploy, and once operational, can’t be upgraded or even repaired.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for operational
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operational
Adjective
-
Exxon operates some of the wells directly and holds a financial, non-operating interest in the others.—
Rachel Nostrant,
Houston Chronicle,
26 Jan. 2026
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Last year, though revenue and operating profit increased, non-operating red ink pushed the company into a full-year loss of NT$766 million, or $25 million.—
Russell Flannery,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But the operative word is delayed, not destroyed.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
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These laws are only required today because Democrats have put in place operative policies that allow for people who are not legal voters to be voting.—
Special to the Sun-Sentinel,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Investigators say the error was compounded by non-functioning signal systems along with failures in staffing, oversight and maintenance during years of delays in safety upgrades.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
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Velasquez said Chait placed a strong emphasis on communication, recalling that district leaders recently sent administrators guidance on reassuring families that schools would remain safe and functioning.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Operational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operational. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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