operatives

noun

Definition of operativesnext
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

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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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for operatives
  1. detectives
  2. agents
  3. investigators
Noun
  • No one was in custody for the fatal shooting and detectives were investigating.
    Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 2024
  • During the news conference, Kenny said New York police detectives were en route to Altoona to interview Mangione.
    Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of detectives
Noun
  • Another new initiative is Project Mariner, which brings Google’s AI agents to the web.
    Richard Nieva, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • To create a more seamless experience, Google also made updates to Project Astra, the company’s platform for AI agents first announced in May, improving latency and natural language understanding.
    Richard Nieva, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of agents
Noun
  • From surveillance video, New York investigators determined the shooter quickly fled the city, likely by bus.
    Michael R. Sisak and Mark Scolforo, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man charged with the killing, had a document conveying disgust with insurance executives when the police took him into custody on Monday, according to investigators.
    Amy Julia Harris, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of investigators
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near operatives

operative

operatives

operator

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“Operatives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operatives. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on operatives

Nglish: Translation of operatives for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of operatives for Arabic Speakers

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