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
Justin Papp, CNBC, 18 May 2026
Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González star in the film about a team of elite operatives on an impossible mission.
—ABC News, 17 May 2026
Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
From 2021 to 2023, about two-thirds of adults over 65 had hypertension, according to the operative definition at the time.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for operative
Noun
But Feehery and a second Republican operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, both predicted that Massie would fall short for not being sufficiently loyal.
—Justin Papp, CNBC, 18 May 2026
Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González star in the film about a team of elite operatives on an impossible mission.
—ABC News, 17 May 2026
Adjective
But the company is also opening a new fulfilment center in Giessen, in western Germany, which should be fully operative by the end of 2027.
—Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
From 2021 to 2023, about two-thirds of adults over 65 had hypertension, according to the operative definition at the time.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for operative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operative
Noun
-
The bar was set high from here, but even the best Bond games have only superficially tackled the essence of the spy fantasy.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
-
New intelligence shows that nearly 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since Vladimir Putin launched his country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to Anne Keast-Butler, the new head of the United Kingdom's communications and cyber spy agency.—
Ramy Inocencio,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Area one detectives are asking anyone with information to contact Chicago police.—
Darius Johnson,
CBS News,
26 May 2026
-
The stylish guests, many of whom dressed as detectives or femmes fatales, raised more than $620,000 for TheatreWorks at the event, held May 17 at the Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Exxon operates some of the wells directly and holds a financial, non-operating interest in the others.—
Rachel Nostrant,
Houston Chronicle,
26 Jan. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Biomimicry often fails when the design is too large, Hassanalian says, but is most efficient on the microscale.—
Tom Brown,
Space.com,
25 May 2026
-
Nanometer processes refer to chip manufacturing technology, with smaller nodes typically enabling faster and more efficient semiconductors.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
During the search for the missing mother and daughter and Fieramusca, FBI agents followed Green.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
What does work is a containment pattern that treats every agent action as an external call requiring authorization at the action level, not the session level.—
Shreyans Mehta,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
On Thursday, investigators searched a property on Blackie Road in Prunedale, where detectives found a skid steer, forklift and four-stall luxury restroom trailer, each reported stolen from a Salinas rental construction business in November 2025, the office said.—
Kassia Bonesteel,
CBS News,
23 May 2026
-
At the time the alert system was activated, investigators believed the kids were in extreme danger, ABC affiliate WJCL reported.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
But building much larger vessels — the Defiant class is intended to displace roughly 30,000 to 40,000 tons — would only inflate costs and create fatter targets, without offering dramatically new operational capacity.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
-
The entire Starship program, however, is far behind schedule, with 12 launches of the rocket in the past three years—some successful, some not, none qualifying the giant machine as anywhere close to operational.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
The ordinance also banned possession of automatic weapons, overriding a newly effective state law that allowed it.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
-
Thankfully, one of the most effective ways to clean a faucet head involves no more than a little white vinegar and some household tools.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Operative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operative. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
