Operative
Operative adjective - Being in effective operation.
Usage example: the last operative bookbinder of its kind in the business
Working is a synonym for operative in property topic. In some cases you can use "Working" instead the word "Operative" as an adjective or a noun, when it comes to topics like action, active, functioning, existent. popular alternative
Working
Working adjective - Being in effective operation.
Usage example: the only working coal mine in the area
Operative is a synonym for working in action topic. You can use "Operative" instead the word "Working" as an adjective or a noun, if it concerns topics such as active, existent. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
- HRG. While much of what he does is for Claire, working to capture the monsters in Level 5 shaped him into the unscrupulous operative he is today
- Renegade Russian: Andrej Karloff used to be a KGB operative, now working for himself.
Source: Literature / Gift der Republik -
It was working just fine, until a single Talon operative accidentally slipped on a banana peel that Winston initially used as a distraction.
Source: Video Game / Overwatch
Cite this Source
Working and Operative. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/operative/working
Operative & Working. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/operative/working>.
Working or Operative. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/operative/working.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "operative" and "working" have occurred on timeline