opportunist

noun

op·​por·​tun·​ist ˌä-pər-ˈtü-nist 

-ˈtyü-

: one that is opportunistic or that practices opportunism

a slick, shady, amoral opportunist who has only one desire: to get through life without a day of labor

—Allan Ulrich

Most burglars are opportunists.

opportunist adjective

Synonyms

• acrobat
• chameleon
• chancer [British]
• temporizer
• timeserver
• trimmer
• weathercock

Examples of opportunist in a Sentence

a political opportunist who changed his health-care plan to win the election

ever the opportunist, she immediately set about becoming the incoming administrator's new best friend

Recent Examples on the Web

While opportunist conservatives frame trans participation in sports as an urgent issue, transgender athletes make up less than half of 1 percent of high school competitors. —Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025

Bootleg merch and non-commercial use Riles & Company has been known to aggressively defend its trademarks by taking legal action against opportunist entrepreneurs hawking unauthorized three-peat products. —Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2025

At the top, the national MAGA movement was full of opportunists, mostly male, some of whom had been polished by Ivy League degrees: J. D. Vance, Josh Hawley, Ron DeSantis, Trump himself. —Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025

Retail stores could also benefit from adding another dimension to product displays or checkout desks, though the device doesn't come with a lock slot for easy security so store owners will have to get inventive or risk opportunist theft. —New Atlas, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

opportun(ism) + -ist entry 1, probably after French opportuniste

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

opportunist

noun

op·​por·​tun·​ist -ˈt(y)ü-nəst 

: one that is opportunistic or that practices opportunism

opportunist adjective

Medical Definition

opportunist

noun

op·​por·​tun·​ist ˌäp-ər-ˈt(y)ü-nəst 

: an opportunistic microorganism