 operative |
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| 1. | [ adjective ] being in force or having or exerting force | |
| Examples: | "operative regulations" "the major tendencies operative in the American political system" |
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| Related terms: | inoperative effective operational at_work working at_work | |
| 2. | [ noun ] a person secretly employed in espionage for a government | |
| Synonyms: | intelligence_officer intelligence_agent secret_agent | |
| Related terms: | agent spy foot bridge_agent agent-in-place codetalker case_officer noc walk-in agent_provocateur | |
| 3. | [ adjective ] (of e.g. a machine) performing or capable of performing | |
| Synonyms: | working functional running | |
| Examples: | "in running (or working) order" "a functional set of brakes" |
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| Related terms: | functioning | |
| 4. | [ adjective ] (surgery) relating to or requiring or amenable to treatment by surgery especially as opposed to medicine | |
| Synonyms: | surgical | |
| Examples: | "a surgical appendix" "a surgical procedure" "operative dentistry" |
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| Related terms: | medical preoperative postoperative | |
| 5. | [ adjective ] effective; producing a desired effect | |
| Synonyms: | key | |
| Examples: | "the operative word" |
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| Related terms: | significant | |
| 6. | [ adjective ] (surgery) of or relating to a surgical operation | |
| Examples: | "operative surgery" |
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| Related terms: | operation | |
| 7. | [ noun ] (work) someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information | |
| Synonyms: | private_eye private_detective private_investigator sherlock shamus PI | |
| Related terms: | detective store_detective inquiry_agent hotel_detective | |
| Similar spelling: |
operatively operate operatic operation operating opera_hat operations operate_on operational operator oporto |
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