detectives

noun

plural of detective
as in investigators
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons the code used by the serial killer in his letters to the police was actually cracked by an amateur detective

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of detectives Police said homicide detectives were called to the scene and a person of interest was detained. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Aug. 2026 Psychiatrists need to be good detectives during the entire process, even after a patient is on a medicine. — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026 Instead, detectives say the group used falsified invoices and documents and transferred cash into personal bank accounts. — Chelsea Jones, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 The situation became clearer Thursday after detectives with the Sunrise Police Department located a member of Molano’s family, Pierre wrote. — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026 His support of his ex-wife has been twisted around by citizen detectives who have accused Patrick of money-grabbing. — Addie Morfoot, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026 Giordano said Vasquez and Felix were arrested on Saturday after being interviewed for the first time by detectives about the incident. — Tristan Maglunog, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detectives
  1. investigators
  2. operatives
Noun
  • Rogue OpenAI agents’ unprecedented coordination during the Hugging Face attack significantly increases the risk of AI escaping human control, analysts said, days after investigators released a bombshell report into the incident.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Because one of the boy's family members had measles, investigators tested the boy's lung tissue and found evidence of measles infection, Diamantoni said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of investigators
Noun
  • Again, this inevitably ends up giving the game more of a Rebellion-era feel, as each of your operatives holds some kind of dark secret or goal that has led them to Zero Company.
    — Hayes Madsen, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • On Wednesday, according to the complaint, the operatives handed Bowie a gun, ammunition and an inert explosive, then gave her instructions on how to use them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of operatives

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detective
detectives
detector
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Cite this Entry

“Detectives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detectives. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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