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operative

adj
/ˈɒpəɹətɪv/UK/ˈɑpəɹətɪv/US/ˈɒpəɹətɪv/CA

Etymology

From Middle English operative, operatyfe, from Middle French operatif (modern French opératif) or its etymon Latin operātīvus. By surface analysis, operate + -ive.

  1. derived from operātīvus
  2. derived from operatif
  3. inherited from operative

Definitions

  1. Effectual or important.

    • He's usually in a good mood — the operative word there being "usually". Today was a disaster.

  2. Functional, in working order.

  3. Having the power of acting

    Having the power of acting; hence, exerting force, physical or moral; active in the production of effects.

    • an operative motive
    • It holds in all operative principles.
    • This call is operative not merely on the level of abstract theory.
  4. ›+ 5 more definitions

    1. Producing the appropriate or designed effect

      Producing the appropriate or designed effect; efficacious.

      • an operative dose, rule, or penalty

    2. Based upon, or consisting of, a surgical operation or operations.

      • operative surgery

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

      • Practically 50 per cent of the female operatives are found in the two groups aged 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 years, while only 18.2 per cent of the female nonoperatives are found in these age groups.

    4. A spy, secret agent, or detective.

    5. A participant in an operation.

The neighborhood

Derived

co-öperative, cooperative, co-operative, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, disoperative, inoperative, interoperative, intra-operative, intraoperative, microoperative, nonoperative, operative clause, operatively, Operative Masonry, operativeness, operative word, operativity, paraoperative, perioperative, peri-operative, peroperative, post-operative, postoperative, preoperative, pre-operative, reoperative, retro-operative, transoperative, unco-operative, unoperative

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at operative. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01operative02force03push04continually05continuous06articulated07articulate08effective

A definitional loop anchored at operative. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at operative

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA