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🇪🇸Spanish Source WordCode: ES

detective

Pronunciation / Transliteration: detective

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Detective/dɪˈtɛk.tɪv/
nounadjectiveCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #2850 frequency
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🇪🇸 Example Sentence in Spanish:

"El detective encontró la pista clave."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A person, especially a police officer, whose occupation is to investigate and solve crimes.

    "The detective carefully examined the crime scene for any clues."
  2. 2

    A person who investigates and solves mysteries or crimes, often in a fictional context.

    "Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous fictional detectives in literature."
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Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Latin verb 'detegere', meaning 'to uncover' or 'to unroof' (comprising 'de-' meaning off/away and 'tegere' meaning to cover). Entering English in the mid-19th century via the related past participle 'detectivus', the term evolved specifically to describe a police officer or private investigator whose job is to discover information and solve crimes.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

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Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Detective"

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