detective vs operative

operative vs detective

detective and operative both are nouns.

detective is not an adjective while operative is an adjective.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
detective	Yes	No	No	No
operative	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, operative is a hyponym of detective; that is, operative is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than detective:

detective: an investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public
operative: someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information and assist in criminal investigations

Other hyponyms of detective include PI, private detective, private eye, private investigator, shamus, sherlock, sleuth, sleuthhound.

detective (noun)	operative (noun)
a police officer who investigates crimes	someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information and assist in criminal investigations
an investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public	a person secretly employed in espionage for a government

detective (adjective)	operative (adjective)
	being in force or having or exerting force
	relating to or requiring or amenable to treatment by surgery especially as opposed to medicine
	(of e.g. a machine) performing or capable of performing
	effective; producing a desired effect

Difference between detective and operative

© WordCmp.com 2024, CC-BY 4.0 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.