- plural of operative.
operatives
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.
In the past 20 years Mr. Macintyre has become the master of the nonfiction spy genre, his books chronicling remarkable stories of operatives, famous and unknown, who changed history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
They asked their supervisors to approve a new investigation and contemplated using undercover operatives to gather more evidence.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
But some staff on the Commission were not convinced of Bayoumi's innocence, and thought it likely he knew Hazmi and Mihdhar were al Qaeda operatives.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Malkovich and Sam Rockwell play veteran CIA operatives who, after helping destabilize Salvador Allende’s government in 1973 Chile, head to Easter Island on a more personal assignment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Aunt Kitty said one of Mr. Pinkerton’s operatives was coming down for it—along with Mr. Bangs himself.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
