1
as in spy
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country
CIA operatives take terrible risks to find out the secrets of foreign countries
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
set in the 1930s, the novel is about a washed-out operative working for a third-rate detective agency
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in operating
being in effective operation
the last operative bookbinder of its kind in the business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in efficient
producing or capable of producing a desired result
unfortunately, the operative amount of the medication and the lethal amount were too close for it to be used safely
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of operative
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 9 June 2026
Cases filed in Lebanon’s military court describe operatives being paid between $2,500 and $20,000 to provide intelligence on Hezbollah weapons depots and political offices.
—ABC News, 9 June 2026
Chris Willman, Variety, 17 May 2026
But the company is also opening a new fulfilment center in Giessen, in western Germany, which should be fully operative by the end of 2027.
—Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for operative
Noun
Al Pacino plays a CIA operative orchestrating a covert plan to eliminate the Cuban revolutionary.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 9 June 2026
Cases filed in Lebanon’s military court describe operatives being paid between $2,500 and $20,000 to provide intelligence on Hezbollah weapons depots and political offices.
—ABC News, 9 June 2026
Adjective
Party is unapologetically the operative word for the ACMs, even down to the extent that many of the awards are being announced prior to airtime, to have few speeches on the show when that time could be used for music.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 17 May 2026
But the company is also opening a new fulfilment center in Giessen, in western Germany, which should be fully operative by the end of 2027.
—Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for operative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operative
Noun
-
In 1977, two women living in the United States Embassy in Moscow become unlikely spies.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
12 June 2026
-
Prior to Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, George Lazenby and Sean Connery also played the role of the famed super spy, based on the character in Ian Fleming's books.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Inbred eccentrics and bumbling detectives have populated the seaside villages of Bruno Dumont’s absurdist comedies.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
16 June 2026
-
Exactly what led up to the shooting is under investigation by homicide detectives.—
Cecilio Padilla,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
True, some if the upside surprise has come from non-operating gains on holdings in huge, private AI pioneers, but not all of it.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
-
Another portion of the penalties stems from MSC’s failure to clearly state the applicable rates or rules for non-operating reefers (NORs) when publishing its tariffs.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Ryne Nelson scattered nine hits over seven efficient innings, while closer Paul Sewald survived Donovan Walton’s two-out homer in the ninth to lock down his 18th save in 19 chances.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
-
An ongoing challenge is that every idea that beats an efficient market eventually becomes stale.—
Gary Sernovitz,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
The third-year wide receiver and the Panthers agreed to a three-year, $34 million contract extension Thursday, according to Coker’s agent, Matt Glose.—
Mike Kaye,
Charlotte Observer,
12 June 2026
-
Immigration agents had been pursuing an undocumented immigrant who was accompanied by his family and drove into the parking lot of Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle school, where agents pulled the parents from the car, authorities and witnesses said.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
The Skaggs side will play a quick but important deposition of an investigator from the case, who testified that Kay told her ex-Angels VP Tim Mead was aware of Kay’s dynamic with Skaggs.—
Sam Blum,
New York Times,
9 Dec. 2025
-
An unusual role reversal played out during a chaotic arrest in North Carolina, when the suspect attacked and bit a police dog, according to investigators.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Functioning as a modular toolkit, each module can be applied independently or concurrently—allowing phased adoption aligned with operational goals and capital availability.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
11 Dec. 2025
-
The incident is usually limited to one operational period in the control phase.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Are vehicle emissions tests effective at reducing air pollution?—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
7 July 2025
-
There are effective treatments ranging from topical prescriptions to Botox.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Time,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Operative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operative. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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