instrumental vs operant

instrumental

noun
  • The instrumental case. 

  • A composition written or performed without lyrics, sometimes using a lead instrument to replace vocals. 

adj
  • Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice). 

  • Applied to a case expressing means or agency, generally indicated in English by by or with with the objective. 

  • Serving as an instrument, medium, means, or agency. 

  • essential or central; of great importance or relevance. 

operant

noun
  • An operative person or thing. 

  • Any of a class of behaviors that produce consequences by operating (i.e., acting) upon the environment. 

adj
  • That operates to produce an effect. 

How often have the words instrumental and operant occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )