operant adjective & noun. ['ɒp(ǝ)r(ǝ)nt] LME.
[Latin operant- pres. ppl stem of operari: see OPERATE, -ANT¹.]
A. adjective.
1. That operates or produces effects, operative. Formerly also, powerful in effect. LME.
■ Shakespeare Timon of Athens Sauce his palate With thy most operant poison. English World-Wide The respondents..had difficulty with those items in which code-shifting was operant.

2. Psychology. Involving the modification of behaviour by the reinforcing or inhibiting effect of its own consequences. M20.
b. noun.
1. A person who or thing which operates or exerts force or influence. E18.

2. Psychology. An item of behaviour held not to be a response to a prior stimulus but something initially spontaneous, operating on or affecting the environment so as to produce consequences which may reinforce or inhibit recurrence of that behaviour. M20.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲