1. Plural of operationist; people who believe in or practice operationism, a philosophical approach that defines concepts in terms of the operations or procedures used to measure or determine them.
Usage: technical; philosophy and science; often used in academic or scientific contexts
2. People who perform or specialize in operations, particularly in medical, military, or technical fields.
Usage: general usage; can refer to surgeons, military personnel, or technical specialists

Examples

• The operationists in the research team defined intelligence strictly by the tests used to measure it.
• Operationists argue that scientific concepts should be defined by the methods used to observe them.
• The hospital's operationists prepared the surgical suite for the morning procedures.
• Military operationists coordinated the complex logistics of the deployment.
• Early 20th-century operationists, influenced by physicist Percy Bridgman, shaped modern scientific methodology.