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

Pursuing Leamas and Doris are Josef Fiedler and Hans-Dieter Mundt, two Stasi operatives whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

Pursuing Leamas and Doris are Josef Fiedler (Brühl) and Hans-Dieter Mundt (Kammerer), two Stasi operatives whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026

On the same day, HHS senior adviser Calley Means doubled down on the claim, posting on X that Kennedy is doing so well that Democratic operatives are slamming the FDA for doing its job by conducting food recalls. — Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

This season, which focuses on tracking down Hamas operatives to stop another catastrophic attack on Israel, speaks directly to a post-October 7 Israeli psyche that is consumed by revenge fantasies. — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 28 Sep. 2026

Many Floridians still remember the 2010 faceoff between Rick Scott and Alex Sink, where GOP operatives pounced on Sink for reading a message sent by an aide in the closing moments of the event. — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026

According to the report, 1,250 Hezbollah operatives are active in Germany. — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026

In his view, Party operatives, who tend to be young, coastal, and college-educated, put their own policy preferences ahead of the median voter, who is a white fiftysomething with a high-school education living in the suburbs. — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026

Reacher takes on a team of CIA operatives at a Baltimore pier. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026