operant

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 operant Researchers then had both groups compete against pain-free mice in a standard motivational test called a progressive ratio (PR) operant test, in which tasty treats become progressively harder to earn. Ben Thomas, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2014 The current study investigated domestic cat preferences at the individual and population level using a free operant preference assessment. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2017 Bradfield probably could have parlayed that success into some sort of cushy position with Burnett, but his operant mode was reinvention. Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2022 As such, mobile games have developed into monsters psychologically tuned to rip thousands out of players vulnerable enough to be operant conditioned into a game addiction. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for operant
Adjective
  • It's powered by the fast and efficient S10 chip and boasts tons of health, fitness, and lifestyle features, including GPS workout recording, ECG, sleep and cycle tracking, music, podcast, and third-party app support.
    Cierra Cowan, PC Magazine, 24 May 2025
  • Life hacks are methods for making daily tasks easier, more efficient, or more enjoyable.
    Paul McClure May 24, New Atlas, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • If price controls are adopted in the U.S., then patients living with Alzheimer’s disease, pancreatic cancer, or muscular dystrophy may end up waiting in vain for efficacious treatments.
    Wayne Winegarden, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
  • Consequently, these controls exacerbate the tension between patients who have access to safe and efficacious medicines and patients living with untreated or poorly treated conditions.
    Wayne Winegarden, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Will prospective politicos and those holding positions of power prompt effectual projects to maintain upkeep and ensure each and every citizen is safe rather than pushing self-serving, divisive social agendas?
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2024
  • Others argue even if wilderness therapy is effectual for some, its premise is flawed.
    Sara M Moniuszko, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Adjective
  • Therefore the May revise, as it’s dubbed, is likely to contain even more expedient fixes that may postpone the day of fiscal reckoning until Newsom’s governorship ends two years hence but will continue to plague his successor and the Legislature.
    Dan Walters, Mercury News, 9 May 2025
  • The discomforts include not just his recent and possibly expedient diagnosis of bipolar disorder but also the return of the other prodigal, Nazareth.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Curiosity In Practice: The Experimental Mindset Curiosity is most effective when paired with action.
    Rob Robinson, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
  • The Bank’s second incarnation, run by Nicholas Biddle, scion of a prominent Philadelphia family and Princeton valedictorian, was even more sophisticated and effective than the first.
    Time, Time, 23 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Operant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/operant. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

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