Synonyms of operatives

operatives

noun

plural of operative

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spies
• agents
• assets
• informers
• moles
• emissaries
• spooks
• undercover agents
• undercovers
• secret agents
• couriers
• infiltrators
• intelligencers
• sleepers
• counterspies
• double agents
• stool pigeons
• spymasters
• superspies

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

• detectives
• investigators
• sleuths
• private detectives
• dicks
• gumshoes
• private investigators
• private eyes
• sleuthhounds
• shadows
• trackers
• sherlocks
• tracers
• hawkshaws
• shamuses
• plainclothesmen
• feds
• narcs
• tails
• G-men
• Federals

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of operatives

The article revealed that Democratic campaign operatives were attempting to recruit a candidate, whom Republicans claim could confuse voters and siphon support from GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 30 Oct. 2026

The New York Times published a report earlier Wednesday saying the Peltola campaign coordinated with Democratic operatives to recruit a second Dan Sullivan to be on the Senate ballot to deliberately confuse voters. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 28 Oct. 2026

In 2020, a group of political operatives working closely with Florida Power and Light sought to derail Rodríguez’s re-election campaign for the Senate by tricking voters into voting for an independent candidate with the same last name. — Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026

Since 2007, Chinese intelligence operatives and their proxies had been stealing data to do with the F-35. — Sam Mullins, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2026

Six of its own operatives were designated alongside the organization. — Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

Voters, candidates, campaign staff, political operatives and election officials can all be found guilty of tampering with the election process, the law film said. — Sacbee.com, 27 Oct. 2026

The Administration’s tactics have reminded her of recent malicious acts in France tied to Russian operatives, such as the defacing of a Holocaust memorial with bloody handprints and the planting of a pig’s head outside a mosque. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026

At a time when the regime is executing protesters on a daily basis, the killing of certain mid-ranking security and military operatives has been met with some satisfaction among segments of Iranian society. — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026