inquiry agent vs operative

inquiry agent and operative both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
inquiry agent	Yes	No	No	No
operative	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, operative is a hypernym of inquiry agent; that is, operative is a word with a broader meaning than inquiry agent:

inquiry agent: a private detective
operative: someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information and assist in criminal investigations

Other hypernyms of inquiry agent include PI, private detective, private eye, private investigator, shamus, sherlock.

inquiry agent (noun)	operative (noun)
a private detective	someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information and assist in criminal investigations
	a person secretly employed in espionage for a government

inquiry agent (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