2. One who acts as an agent of another, especially a detective or spy. [PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
Operative — Op er*a*tive, a. [Cf.L. operativus, F. op[ e]ratif.] 1. Having the power of acting; hence, exerting force, physical or moral; active in the production of effects; as, an operative motive; operative laws. [1913 Webster] It holds in all operative… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Operative — may refer to: Political operative or campaign staff The Operative, a character from the television series Firefly The Operative: No One Lives Forever, a 2000 video game Operative Media, an advertising company, founded 2000 See also Agent… … Wikipedia
operative — I adjective acting, active, adequate, advantageous, ample, applicable, at work, beneficial, capable, competent, effective, effectual, efficax, efficient, employed, fruitful, functional, functioning, helpful, in action, in effect, in force, in… … Law dictionary
operative# — operative adj *active, dynamic, live Analogous words: *effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient: *fertile, fecund, fruitful Antonyms: abeyant operative n mechanic, artisan, hand, workman, working man, *worker, laborer, craftsman,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
operative — [äp′ə rə tiv΄, äp′ə rāt΄iv] adj. [Fr opératif < LL(Ec) operativus] 1. capable of, characterized by, or in operation 2. a) accomplishing what is desired; effective b) of primary importance; key; essential [the operative word in a sentence] 3.… … English World dictionary
operative — (adj.) producing the intended effect, early 15c., from L.L. operativus creative, formative, from operat , pp. stem of operari (see OPERATION (Cf. operation)). Weakened sense of significant, important is from 1955. The noun meaning worker,… … Etymology dictionary
operative — [adj] active, functioning; influential accessible, alive, crucial, current, dynamic, effective, efficient, employable, functional, important, indicative, in force, in operation, key, live, open, operational, practicable, relevant, running,… … New thesaurus
operative — ► ADJECTIVE 1) functioning; having effect. 2) (of a word) having the most relevance or significance in a phrase. 3) relating to surgery. ► NOUN 1) a worker, especially a skilled one. 2) a private detective or secret agent. DE … English terms dictionary
operative — ▪ I. operative op‧e‧ra‧tive 1 [ˈɒprətɪv ǁ ˈɑːprə , ˈɑːpəreɪ ] adjective working or able to be used: • When does the plant become operative? • If the bond is currently trading below par, its operative life is likely to be the number of years to… … Financial and business terms
operative — [[t]ɒ̱pərətɪv[/t]] operatives 1) ADJ: usu v link ADJ A system or service that is operative is working or having an effect. [FORMAL] The commercial telephone service was no longer operative... The Youth Training Scheme was operative by the end of… … English dictionary
