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 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, 6 Aug. 2025 The dispute with the Duke of Sussex related to passages detailing a fist fight between them and suggestions that Andrew believed Meghan Markle was an opportunist. Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025 His opponent, the cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, had spent a staggering $13 million on his campaign, much of it on negative ads casting Giuliani as a glory-seeking political opportunist. Jonathan Mahler, Curbed, 1 Aug. 2025 Furthermore, the only people that were really threatened by the dinosaurs was a family, a few villagers and the crew, which included formulaic opportunists looking to make a quick buck. Jan Wagner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for opportunist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opportunist
Noun
  • When a chameleon spots a bug, tiny muscles adjust the lens until the target is perfectly in focus, and that adjustment tells them exactly how far away dinner is.
    Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The parallels between salamanders and chameleons indicate that the underlying physics does not depend on rare or exotic tissues.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Here are some methods for scraping good music from the data wasteland, organized in a hierarchy from bottom-feeder basics to more sophisticated and ultimately, uhh, harebrained strategies.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 31 July 2025
  • With the July 31 trade deadline only two weeks beyond the Atlanta All-Star Game, contenders and would-be contenders are eying the rosters of bottom-feeders to fill the few holes on their rosters.
    Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
Noun
  • Even back on board, the show continues after dark, with pelicans and reef sharks drawn to the yacht’s lights and sea lions sometimes clambering onto the aft deck.
    Rachel Ingram, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • These included Tralalero Tralala, a three-legged shark with blue Nikes; Tung Tung Tung Sahur, an anthropomorphic wood plank; and Ballerina Cappuccina, a cup of golden-brown coffee in a pink bodice.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 10 Sep. 2025
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
  • His characters come off as feisty egoists who enjoy sparring and comparing the size of their ambitions.
    Justin Davidson, Vulture, 13 May 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

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Cite this Entry

“Opportunist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opportunist. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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