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

Trump’s contrived veneer is being ripped away to reveal an immoral, mendacious, transactional opportunist, without a shred of loyalty to anyone or anything but himself. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2025

Photo: Focus Features/Everett Collection A Coen brothers riff on the spy genre, Burn After Reading is filled with self-mythologizing drunks, unskilled opportunists, and borderline morons. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025

Whether Carr really is a hardcore ideologue or simply an opportunist using the ascendant ideology to gain attention is debated in regulatory circles. —Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025

Like other types of wildlife, such as opossums and skunks, foxes are opportunists and love an easy meal, says Pierce. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for opportunist

• cartoonist
• soonest

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