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operative

[op-er-uh-tiv, op-ruh-tiv, op-uh-rey-tiv] / ˈɒp ər ə tɪv, ˈɒp rə tɪv, ˈɒp əˌreɪ tɪv /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As a KGB operative and then an assiduous apparatchik, he avoided attention.

From BBC • May 30, 2026

She became a political operative in Republican politics, starting in local Miami races and eventually served as national Hispanic chair for 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026

Quinnell’s 1980 novel is now a seven-part thriller starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a disgraced operative protecting a child amid a criminal conspiracy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

A U.S. special-forces operative has been charged with using classified information to reap more than $400,000 from bets on the ouster of Venezuela’s president.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

Psi subjects 3285 and 5312, who were taken from camp boundaries at approximately 03:34 by a Children’s League operative, are now believed to have been mistakenly identified as Green upon their initial classification....”’

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken




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