opportunistic

adjective

op·​por·​tu·​nis·​tic ˌä-pər-tü-ˈni-stik 

-tyü-

: taking advantage of opportunities as they arise: such as

a

: exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle (see principle sense 1) or consequences

a politician considered opportunistic

an opportunistic investment

b

: feeding on whatever food is available

opportunistic feeders

opportunistic bears

c

: being or caused by a usually harmless microorganism that can become pathogenic when the host's resistance is impaired

opportunistic infections

opportunistic diseases

opportunistically

ˌä-pər-tü-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē 

-tyü-

adverb

Examples of opportunistic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Carter would go on to be exposed as a white supremacist Klan member who once wrote speeches for George Wallace, and whether his literary career was an attempt to distance himself from that, an opportunistic exercise, or some combination of the two remains an unsettled question. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024

Understanding Raccoon Behavior Raccoons are opportunistic feeders, chowing down on whatever’s readily available. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024

The Evolving Threat Landscape: From Espionage To Disruption Gone are the days when cyber threats were primarily the domain of opportunistic hackers looking for a quick profit. —Francis Dinha, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024

Their cases will face legal defenses that depict the claims as time barred and opportunistic attempts to rewrite rules the former players accepted as conditions of eligibility. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

opportunist + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

opportunistic

noun

op·​por·​tu·​nis·​tic -t(y)ü-ˈnis-tik 

: taking advantage of opportunities as they arise: as

a

: exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle or consequences

an opportunistic cheater

b

: feeding on whatever food is available

opportunistic feeders

Medical Definition

opportunistic

adjective

op·​por·​tu·​nist·​ic -t(y)ü-ˈnis-tik 

1

: of, relating to, or being a microorganism that is usually harmless but can become pathogenic when the host's resistance to disease is impaired

2

: of, relating to, or being an infection or disease caused by an opportunistic organism

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and other opportunistic infections that kill AIDS patients

—New York Times