Operative

  • 1Operative — 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

  • 2Operative — 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

  • 3operative — 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

  • 4operative# — 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

  • 5operative — [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

  • 6Operative — Op er*a*tive, n. 1. A skilled worker; an artisan; esp., one who operates a machine in a mill or manufactory. [1913 Webster] 2. One who acts as an agent of another, especially a detective or spy. [PJC] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 7operative — (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

  • 8operative — [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

  • 9operative — ► 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

  • 10operative — ▪ I. operative op‧e‧ra‧tive 1 [ˈɒprətɪv ǁ ˈɑːprə , 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