Operative

/ˈɒpəɹətɪv/ noun adjective

An employee or other worker with some particular function or skill.

What it means

  1. (noun) An employee or other worker with some particular function or skill.
  2. (noun) A spy, secret agent, or detective.
  3. (noun) A participant in an operation.
  4. (adjective) Effectual or important. “He's usually in a good mood — the operative word there being "usually". Today was a disaster.”
  5. (adjective) Functional, in working order.
  6. (adjective) Having the power of acting; hence, exerting force, physical or moral; active in the production of effects. “an operative motive”
  7. (adjective) Producing the appropriate or designed effect; efficacious. “an operative dose, rule, or penalty”
  8. (adjective) Based upon, or consisting of, a surgical operation or operations. “operative surgery”

Letter analysis

  • Operative contains 9 letters: 5 vowel(s) and 4 consonant(s).
  • It uses 8 unique letters.
  • Estimated syllable count: 4.
  • Scrabble-style letter score: 14.

Related words

Other 9-letter words

See all 9-letter words →

Words starting with OPE

See all words starting with OPE →

Words ending with IVE

See all words ending with IVE →

Sub-words

Common questions

What does Operative mean?

An employee or other worker with some particular function or skill.

How many letters are in Operative?

Operative has 9 letters.

Solve more words

Find words from your own letters with our free puzzle tools.