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
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of operatives
Gilead killed Mel and Neil for being secret Mayday operatives, which Daisy can’t quite believe of her parents, who were polite even to Pearl Girls.
—
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026
Agnes, the well-to-do daughter of a Commander who is nearly ready to be married off herself; and Daisy, a teenager from Canada who realizes her parents were part of the Mayday resistance just after they are murdered by Gilead operatives.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Israel claims to have killed hundreds of Hezbollah operatives in the latest bombardment and ground invasion.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Apr. 2026
One of the officials said the March 3 drone strike that hit the tanker was launched by Ukrainian operatives in a military facility in Tripoli.
—Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
Witness testimony described a system in which funds were funneled through intermediaries and political operatives, with Venezuelan officials playing a central coordinating role.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
The Sunnyvale detective said similar enterprises have involved multiple levels of operatives, with everyone getting paid different amounts.
—Megan Cassidy, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2026
Sabti described Vahidi as part of an early cadre of Iranian operatives who built ties with militant groups in Lebanon before and after the 1979 revolution, relationships that later became central to Iran’s regional strategy.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
In 2024 Israeli operatives infiltrated Hezbollah’s supply chain and used shell companies to sell members pagers and walkie-talkies rigged with explosives.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2026
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026
Agnes, the well-to-do daughter of a Commander who is nearly ready to be married off herself; and Daisy, a teenager from Canada who realizes her parents were part of the Mayday resistance just after they are murdered by Gilead operatives.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Israel claims to have killed hundreds of Hezbollah operatives in the latest bombardment and ground invasion.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Apr. 2026
One of the officials said the March 3 drone strike that hit the tanker was launched by Ukrainian operatives in a military facility in Tripoli.
—Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
Witness testimony described a system in which funds were funneled through intermediaries and political operatives, with Venezuelan officials playing a central coordinating role.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
The Sunnyvale detective said similar enterprises have involved multiple levels of operatives, with everyone getting paid different amounts.
—Megan Cassidy, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2026
Sabti described Vahidi as part of an early cadre of Iranian operatives who built ties with militant groups in Lebanon before and after the 1979 revolution, relationships that later became central to Iran’s regional strategy.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
In 2024 Israeli operatives infiltrated Hezbollah’s supply chain and used shell companies to sell members pagers and walkie-talkies rigged with explosives.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operatives
Noun
-
Our spies tell us that the 2028 Lamborghini Temerario Spyder will debut some time in 2027.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The pair, who were arrested in May 2022 while visiting Iran, were accused by Iranian state television of being spies who sought to stir up unrest, according to Reuters.—
Greg Norman-Diamond,
FOXNews.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Wentworth Area detectives were investigating.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The pair of Brooklyn North narcotics detectives involved in the clash thought the man matched the description of someone who had just made a drug sale, a police source said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Ashwin Sreenivas, president of AI startup Decagon, said the advent of coding agents has led to a number of shifts within his company.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
11 Apr. 2026
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The action kicked off in the Bronx, where agents descended on a Selwyn Ave.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The suspect accused of leading troopers on a police chase through Buckhead before crashing at one of the area's busiest intersections has now been identified, according to an update from investigators.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
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Meanwhile, Operation Sideswipe kept expanding and racking up prosecutorial victories, building off the work of private-sector investigators and lawyers for the trucking companies.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Operatives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operatives. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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