Who knew there were so many operatives
One of my pet peeves is terms that get overused (unless, of course, I overuse them, in which case they are “well-used” at worst). Of overused terms, one I particularly despise is the word “operative.” Here are some relatively recent examples.
- “Russian operatives“
- “WikiLeaks operative“
- “CIA operative“
- Yet another “CIA operative“
- “Democratic operative“
- “Trump operative“
- “Republican operative“
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over? It’s like a Robert Ludlum novel.
retiredmustang 
One wonders how many of those actually exist or are ‘phantom’ operatives… Just sayin…
Who knows? I think the word gets used simply because it has that whole cloak and dagger, dark and mysterious feel to it. It is, at best, a fine example of being lazy with language.