Dictionary Definition
agent
Noun
1 an active and efficient cause; capable of
producing a certain effect; "their research uncovered new disease
agents"
2 a substance that exerts some force or
effect
3 a representative who acts on behalf of other
persons or organizations
5 any agent or representative of a federal agency
or bureau [syn: federal
agent]
6 the semantic role of the animate entity that
instigates or causes the hapening denoted by the verb in the clause
[syn: agentive
role]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From etyl la agentem.Pronunciation
- /'eɪ.ʤɛnt/
Noun
- One who exerts power, or has the power to act; an actor.
- Heaven made us agents, free to good or ill. --Dryden.
- One who acts for, or in the place of, another, by authority from him; one intrusted with the business of another; a substitute; a deputy; a factor.
- An active power or cause; that which has the power to produce an effect; as, a physical, chemical, or medicinal agent; as, heat is a powerful agent.
- In the client-server model, the part of the system that performs information preparation and exchange on behalf of a client or server. Especially in the phrase “intelligent agent” it implies some kind of automatic process which can communicate with other agents to perform some collective task on behalf of one or more humans.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
one who exerts power
- Hebrew: סוכן (sokhen) , סוכנת (sokhenet)
- Italian: agente
- Portuguese: agente
- Scottish Gaelic: neach-ionaid m|f
one who acts in place of another
- Crimean Tatar: agent
- Danish: agent
- Dutch: vertegenwoordiger, agent
- French: agent
- German: Agent
- Hebrew: סוכן (sokhen) , סוכנת (sokhenet)
- Hungarian: ügynök, képviselő
- Italian: agente
- Japanese: 代理人 (dairinin)
- Korean: 대리인 (daeriin)
- Norwegian: agent
- Portuguese: agente
- Russian: агент
- Spanish: agente
- trreq Swedish
- trreq Turkish
active power or cause
- Italian: agente
- Portuguese: agente
part of the system that performs information
preparation and exchange on behalf of a client or server
- Portuguese: agente
See also
Crimean Tatar
Noun
agent- agent
References
Useinov-Mireev 2002}}Croatian
Noun
Extensive Definition
An agent is either an entity who is capable of
action or an agent is
something or someone which acts on behalf of another person.
Agent can mean:
- Agent
(law): a person authorised to act on behalf of another person
- Patent agent, or patent attorney, a professional who represents and advises another in the assessment, securing and maintaining of intellectual property rights, with particular reference to patent rights.
- Tuition agent, a person who represents a tuition agency in searching for suitable tutors for students.
- Literary agent, a person who represents a writer
- Theatrical agent
- Booking agent
- Sports agent, a professional who represents an athlete
- Talent agent, a person who finds jobs for actors, models, and other people in various entertainment businesses.
- Press agent, publicist who acts on behalf of a client on all matters involving public relations
- Foreign agent, someone registered with the U.S. Justice Department as mandated by the Foreign Agents Registration Act
- Travel agent, makes vacation and travel arrangements
- Real estate broker, or real estate agent
- Yacht broker, or yacht agent
- Yacht charter broker, or yacht charter agent
- Election agent, a person responsible for a candidate's campaign
- Free agent, a sports player who is out of contract
- Agent provocateur, a person assigned to provoke unrest, violence, debate, or argument by or within a group while acting as a member of the group but covertly representing the interests of another
- Rational agent deliberate being
In espionage and law enforcement
- Secret agent, a spy
- Double agent, in spying
- Special agent, generally, a federal criminal or non-criminal investigator or detective.
In economics
In chemistry and warfare:
- Agent Orange, a herbicide
- Biological agent, an infectious disease that can be used in biological warfare
- Chemical warfare agent, classified by their effect and include:
In linguistics
- Agent (grammar), one of the thematic roles: the participant of a situation that carries out an action. Replaces "subject" in placement typology.
- Agent noun (or nomen agentis), one of the derivatemes (a topic from linguistic morphology)
In computer science
- Software
agent, software that acts on behalf of a user
- Forté Agent, a newsreader and email client
- User agent, a client application used with a particular network protocol
- Intelligent
agent
- In artificial intelligence an intelligent agent is any entity that is capable of perceiving its environment and carrying out goal-directed action.
- In computer science, an intelligent agent is a software agent that displays some intelligence.
In fiction
- Agent 212, a Belgian comic
- Agents, characters in The Matrix
- The Agent (film), a 1922 film
- Secret Agent (1936 film), a 1936 film
- The Agents, superhuman characters in Seven Samurai 20XX
- Agent 47, a character from the computer game series Hitman
In finance
- Agent, a financial institution acting as the operational intermediary in a syndicated loan between the syndicate banks and the borrower. The most common form is the "Administrative Agent".
In popular culture
- Polish version of The Mole.
agent in Arabic: عميل
agent in Bulgarian: Агент
agent in Danish: Agent
agent in German: Agent
agent in Spanish: Agente
agent in French: Agent
agent in Italian: Agente
agent in Lithuanian: Agentas
agent in Hungarian: Ügynök
agent in Dutch: Agent
agent in Japanese: エージェント
agent in Norwegian: Agent
agent in Polish: Agent
agent in Russian: Агент
agent in Simple English: Agent
agent in Serbian: Агент
agent in Finnish: Agentti
agent in Swedish: Agent
agent in Urdu: سازندہ
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Charlie McCarthy, Federal, acid, acidity, acolyte, activator, actor, adjutant, administrator, advocate, agency, aid, aide, aide-de-camp, aider, alkali, alkalinity, alloisomer, amanuensis, amicus curiae,
ancilla, anion, antacid, appliance, appointee, architect, assignee, assistant, atom, attendant, attorney, attorney-at-law,
author, auxiliary, baggage agent,
barrister,
barrister-at-law, base,
begetter, beginner, best man, biochemical, broker, business agent, buyer, candidate, catalyst, cation, cause, causer, channel, chemical, chemical element,
chromoisomer, claim
agent, clerk, coadjutant, coadjutor, coadjutress, coadjutrix, commercial agent,
commission agent, commissionaire, commissioner, compound, conductor, connection, consignee, contrivance, copolymer, counsel, counselor, counselor-at-law,
creator, creature, customer agent,
delegate, deputy, device, dimer, directeur, director, distributor, doer, driver, dummy, dupe, effector, element, emissary, energizer, engenderer, engineer, envoy, executant, executive, executive officer,
executor, executrix, fabricator, factor, father, fed, federal agent, force, freight agent, friend at
court, front, front man,
functionary, general
agent, generator,
go-between, governor,
handler, handmaid, handmaiden, heavy chemicals,
help, helper, helpmate, helpmeet, high polymer,
homopolymer,
hydracid, implement, impresario, ingredient, inorganic
chemical, inspirer,
instigator, instrument, instrumentality,
instrumentation,
insurance agent, intendant, interagent, interceder, intercessor, intermediary, intermediate, intermediate
agent, intermediator, intermedium, internuncio, intervener, interventionist,
interventor,
ion, isomer, jobber, land agent, law agent,
lawyer, legal adviser,
legal counselor, legal expert, legal practitioner, legalist, legate, lever, liaison, licensee, lieutenant, link, literary agent, loan agent,
macromolecule,
maker, manager, manipulator, means, mechanism, mediary, mediator, medium, metamer, middleman, midwife, minion, minister, ministry, molecule, monomer, mother, mouthpiece, mover, negotiant, negotiator, negotiatress, negotiatrix, neutralizer, news agent,
nominee, nonacid, official, ombudsman, operant, operative, operator, organ, organic chemical, originator, oxyacid, paranymph, paraprofessional,
parent, parliamentary
agent, passenger agent, pawn, performer, perpetrator, pilot, plaything, pleader, polymer, power, practitioner, press agent,
prime mover, primum mobile, proctor, procurator, producer, proxy, pseudoisomer, puppet, purchasing agent,
radical, reagent, real estate agent,
rector, representative,
responsible person, runner, sales agent, sea lawyer,
second, secretary, selectee, self-styled lawyer,
servant, sideman, sire, slave, solicitor, special agent,
spokesman, spokesperson, spokeswoman, spook, spy, station agent, steersman, steward, stooge, subject, substitute, sulfacid, supercargo, supporting actor,
supporting instrumentalist, surrogate, theatrical agent,
ticket agent, tie, tool, toy, travel agent, trimer, undercover man, vehicle, walking delegate,
wholesaler, worker