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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of operative
Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Checkmate has a storied history in the DC Comics, first appearing in 1988 and populated mostly with DC’s anti-heroes; Peacemaker and Vigilante were early members, and Bordeaux has also been a prominent operative.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Maria Williams, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025
The fleet departed from Barcelona, with activists supported by groups in Spain, which Jerusalem claims is tied to Hamas operative Saif Abu Kashk, who allegedly runs a front company that Israeli intelligence claims controls many of the ships.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for operative
Noun
On Monday, dozens of Hamas operatives were seen at a hospital in southern Gaza during the release of Israeli hostages.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Checkmate has a storied history in the DC Comics, first appearing in 1988 and populated mostly with DC’s anti-heroes; Peacemaker and Vigilante were early members, and Bordeaux has also been a prominent operative.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Usually, this does not include lodging, transportation, or post-operative assistance.
—Maria Williams, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025
The fleet departed from Barcelona, with activists supported by groups in Spain, which Jerusalem claims is tied to Hamas operative Saif Abu Kashk, who allegedly runs a front company that Israeli intelligence claims controls many of the ships.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for operative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operative
Noun
-
Classified spy satellites are the Ferraris of the space world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
-
In recent years, The View dressed a child as an Oscar with a red handprint on their face to commemorate the infamous Will Smith Oscars slap, and dressed another kid as the legendary Chinese spy balloon one year later.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Maybe archaeologists and detectives are not so different.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to call state police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office at 508-832-9124 or Gardner police at 978-632-5600.—
Michael Ruiz , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Last year, though revenue and operating profit increased, non-operating red ink pushed the company into a full-year loss of NT$766 million, or $25 million.—
Russell Flannery,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
-
The adjusted net income decreased by 8% y-o-y to $3.9 billion in the first nine months of 2022 due to higher expenses as a % of revenues and lower non-operating income.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes,
11 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
Upcycling solid wastes This technique provides a versatile, scalable, and efficient strategy for upcycling solid wastes into high-performance materials for environmental and energy catalysis, as per the study.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Many restaurants already outsourced their human resources or legal or design to third parties; outsourcing delivery just seemed efficient.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But the lack of transparency and due process are similar, and there are few to no guarantees of the safety of people whom ICE agents remove, often without identifying themselves, and move around without notifying the family or lawyers of the detained.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was one of the first people to publicly condemn the selection of Bad Bunny, going as far as threatening that ICE agents would be present at the Super Bowl next year.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Less than 24 hours later, investigators say Lauren Spors beat her mother to death with a rock.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in an October 26 statement that investigators made the arrests the previous evening.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Unlike special economic zone offices elsewhere, RHQs in Riyadh are designed to serve as genuine operational bases—not symbolic branches—managing corporate strategy and human capital across the entire Middle East and Africa.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The gel format also prevents leakage and minimizes thermal expansion, enhancing operational safety.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Diagonal passes to onrushing full-backs has proven to be another effective route around the high defensive line, as Inter targeted Denzel Dumfries with 14 long balls out to his flank across the two-legged Champions League semi-final tie with Barcelona last season.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Ford said after talking with Prime Minister Mark Carney he’s decided to pause the advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume.—
Rob Gillies,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Operative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operative. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share