1
as in spies
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
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2
as in detectives
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
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Recent Examples of operatives
Garvey is just one of hundreds of anti-government operatives training agitators to interfere with federal law enforcement.
—
Asra Q. Nomani , Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
His espionage thriller Lioness, which stars Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña as CIA operatives, is in production on its third season.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
Venezuelans in the past two decades have watched as the regime squandered the wealth that oil had created, let the country’s oil infrastructure rot, removed gasoline subsidies, and welcomed a bigger hand from Cuba, bartering oil for professionals and intelligence operatives from Havana.
—The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
Between the Good and Pretti shootings, GOP operatives had been hammering how Democratic incumbents and challengers in competitive 2026 midterm races were embracing anti-ICE positions, which echoed those previous calls to throttle the agency.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
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
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
Cuban intelligence operatives have been present in Venezuela since the early 2000s.
—Helena Carpio, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
When their men are killed in a suspicious plane crash, the wives decide to become CIA operatives themselves in hopes of uncovering the truth.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 14 Jan. 2026
Asra Q. Nomani , Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
His espionage thriller Lioness, which stars Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña as CIA operatives, is in production on its third season.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
Venezuelans in the past two decades have watched as the regime squandered the wealth that oil had created, let the country’s oil infrastructure rot, removed gasoline subsidies, and welcomed a bigger hand from Cuba, bartering oil for professionals and intelligence operatives from Havana.
—The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
Between the Good and Pretti shootings, GOP operatives had been hammering how Democratic incumbents and challengers in competitive 2026 midterm races were embracing anti-ICE positions, which echoed those previous calls to throttle the agency.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
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
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
Cuban intelligence operatives have been present in Venezuela since the early 2000s.
—Helena Carpio, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
When their men are killed in a suspicious plane crash, the wives decide to become CIA operatives themselves in hopes of uncovering the truth.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operatives
Noun
-
The Americans stars Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell as Soveit spies posing as an American family during the Cold War.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
-
One worker joined the FBI and made a career in counterintelligence, sniffing out Chinese spies.—
Hanna Rosin,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Square-jawed detectives were tripping over corpses at midtown construction sites, blind vigilantes were redecorating Hell’s Kitchen with body parts and even poor Lester the doorman ended up dead in an Upper West Side courtyard fountain.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The office said several hundred detectives and agents are on the case.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Confrontations involving federal agents have routinely been captured on video from multiple angles, which later served to discount parts of the government’s narrative of events.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Democrats demanded new restrictions on federal immigration agents in exchange for voting to fund DHS after Alex Pretti was killed last month in Minneapolis.—
Riley Beggin,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, investigators hope DNA from a glove recovered about two miles from Nancy’s residence will lead them closer to a suspect.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
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The warrant was based on a lead that investigators received, the department said, but no arrests were made.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Operatives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operatives. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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