operant

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 operant Researchers then had both groups compete against pain-free mice in a standard motivational test called a progressive ratio (PR) operant test, in which tasty treats become progressively harder to earn. Ben Thomas, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2014 The current study investigated domestic cat preferences at the individual and population level using a free operant preference assessment. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2017 Bradfield probably could have parlayed that success into some sort of cushy position with Burnett, but his operant mode was reinvention. Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2022 As such, mobile games have developed into monsters psychologically tuned to rip thousands out of players vulnerable enough to be operant conditioned into a game addiction. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operant
Adjective
  • Illinois residents deserve a more efficient and effective governmental system than the current chaotic mix of unaccountable jurisdictions.
    David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
  • This Duke team is the second-most efficient the sport has seen since Ken Pomeroy started tracking efficiency in the 1996-97 season.
    Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Thorne is also rigorously tested and has worked with independent researchers from places like Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health, to ensure its products are high-performance, safe, and efficacious.
    Vogue, Vogue, 30 Mar. 2025
  • These efficacious, natural ingredients include chamomile, California poppy, lemon verbena, linden, magnesium, rosemary and cardamom.
    Bianca Salonga, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Since 2014, that party has been disbanded, its remnants swept into the much smaller and less effectual Opposition Bloc.
    Konstantin Skorkin, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2019
  • Exceptions, such as the Iranian sanctions preceding the negotiation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are typically multinational, economically effectual, and explicit in stating the criteria and circumstances under which policy change would yield sanctions removal.
    Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2017
Adjective
  • Trading long-term gains for short-term impact may seem like the expedient choice, except for one lingering question: What if the most expensive decision is not going to college at all?
    Judy D. Olian, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Firing all probationary employees—which is the most expedient way to reduce the size of government—is a blunt instrument.
    Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • These scams are effective because the codes cannot be read by people, meaning the consumers who scan the codes cannot where they are being taken to.
    David G.W. Birch, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
  • To be effective, pre-emergent herbicides must be applied before seeds germinate, generally in early spring for summer annuals and perennials, or early fall for winter annuals.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Operant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operant. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!