Definition of opportunistnext
1
as in chameleon
a person who dexterously and expediently changes or adopts opinions ever the opportunist, she immediately set about becoming the incoming administrator's new best friend

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2
as in bottom-feeder
one who does things only for his own benefit and with little regard for right and wrong an opportunist who makes friends and then drops them as soon as they aren't useful anymore

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of opportunist Hepburn was enamored with the high-minded Ferrer, though some saw him as a puppet master and opportunist. Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 15 May 2026 The Boys – Season 5 (Prime Video) Things have gone from bad to worse in the final season of The Boys, Prime Video’s irreverent superhero satire about America succumbing to charismatic despots and fascistic opportunists. Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026 Ever the opportunist, Jones makes a plea to his base. Mia Sato, The Verge, 24 Apr. 2026 Some of the backlash is predicated on harmful stereotypes about trans women that portray them as predatory opportunists. Jenna Norosky, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for opportunist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opportunist
Noun
  • In Labour circles, there is an old joke poking fun at Burnham’s chameleon-like ability to blend into whichever set of ideas is in vogue on the left at that moment in time.
    Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 20 June 2026
  • But unlike its 1,139 hp Valkyrie stablemate—street-legal, yet all motorsport manners—this carbon-fiber chameleon is an undeniable track star that also offers revelatory driving refinement on the road, setting a standard much the way Aston’s iconic DB5 once did in its own era.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 June 2026
Noun
  • Even Miami was a bottom-feeder until Messi arrived, and even then — yes, after 2024 Supporters’ Shield and 2023 Leagues Cup successes — the club suffered a first-round playoff exit in his first full season.
    Avi Creditor, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2026
  • These sharks are thought to be bottom-feeders, preying on fish that frequent the floors of rivers and estuaries.
    John P. Rafferty, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • That night, Valencia, the vessel’s captain, set out with a crew of nine from Jaramijó, Ecuador, for what was expected to be a typical three-week voyage, casting lines for shark, marlin, and tuna.
    Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
  • The group stage would be a series of blowouts, the sharks would devour the minnows.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026
Noun
  • Thus the self-seekers and the doctrinaires were drawn together into an alliance to maintain the status quo, and all its abuses and inequalities were made sacrosanct.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2011
Noun
  • Fittingly, the song’s thumping beat is heard twice, real loud, in Rosebush Pruning, Karim Aїnouz’s high-gloss, pitch-dark satire about an American family described by one of its scions as mediocre, vapid egotists, who will never have to work thanks to a large inheritance.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The former vice-president’s characterizations of peers such as Pete Buttigieg (talented but too gay for the America to accept as her running mate), and Josh Shapiro (an egoist) are not particularly juicy, but have already caused bad blood.
    Book Marks September 25, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
  • The adage about egoists who want to be the bride at every wedding proved literally true.
    Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 9 May 2025
Noun
  • The film is set in a declining industrial city in Northeast China and traces a young man’s search for his father, a small-time schemer who chased quick riches during the freewheeling capitalist surge of the late 1990s and early 2000s in Southern China.
    Marcus Lim, Variety, 18 June 2026
  • Readers may learn about the Florida aquifer, cowhunters, deadhead logging, old-school conservationists such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas and even Charles Ponzi, the famed schemer.
    Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026

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“Opportunist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opportunist. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.

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