Thesaurus results for OPERATIVES

operatives

noun

plural of operative

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

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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

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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 operatives The Administration’s tactics have reminded her of recent malicious acts in France tied to Russian operatives, such as the defacing of a Holocaust memorial with bloody handprints and the planting of a pig’s head outside a mosque. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026 The vote had faced concerns of possible foreign interference after Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail reported Republican operatives had assisted top separatist leaders with their independence bid. — Max Saltman, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 At a time when the regime is executing protesters on a daily basis, the killing of certain mid-ranking security and military operatives has been met with some satisfaction among segments of Iranian society. — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026 The operatives were also directed to obtain information about the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft and upcoming flights. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 Kenney said the movement also became more professional, building organizations, raising money and drawing in political operatives with campaign and fundraising experience. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 And Republican political operatives and independent election observers CNBC spoke with say the money hasn't had the effects its magnitude would be expected to in voter sentiment. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 Jamal allegedly promised to protect the Feeding Our Future operatives against the threat of prosecution, took their money, and then turned some of them over to investigators. — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026 To the continued amazement of advantage players, casino operatives can argue with apparent conviction that card counting— essentially mental arithmetic—is a form of fraud. — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for operatives

Noun

The National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control section, which prosecutes spies, is assisting the DOJ in the case.

— Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
By the time the Dutch spies had visibility into the phone, the account had received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan.

— Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of spies

Noun

Tallahassee police detectives have reviewed digital evidence and canvassed the area, police said in a statement Sunday.

— Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026
The older brother, Marques Smith, said in an interview with detectives that they were dropped off from work at 29th Street and Indiana Avenue minutes before police officers were seen in the area, according to court records.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of detectives

Noun

For all its tests, the company builds realistic simulated environments, red teams these environments itself and with third parties to see whether they can be escaped, and monitors what agents do.

— Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
In a video of the incident posted to social media, a black SUV was seen driving down the residential street before appearing to strike an observer as other observers blew whistles in warning of approaching agents.

— Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of agents

Noun

When investigators approached him in 2010 about the investigation into his father’s killing, Douglas Herlihy referred them to his attorney.

— Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Over 70 women came forward to investigators, reporting harrowing accounts of the brothers’ attacks, prosecutors said in their sentencing memo.

— Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of investigators

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“Operatives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operatives. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of operatives

noun

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