opportunist

noun op·por·tun·ist \ ˌä-pər-ˈtü-nist , -ˈtyü- \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of opportunist

: 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.

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opportunist

adjective

See opportunist defined for English-language learners

See opportunist defined for kids

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 of opportunist from the Web

The important thing is to prevent hostile powers, scam artists, and opportunists from turning all Facebook’s wonderful tools—which are otherwise used to further peace, love, and understanding—against its users.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Facebook’s Innocence Project," 10 Apr. 2018
Here, everything from mice to snakes, McDonald’s leftovers and Starbucks’ scraps, can be fair pickings for these ultimate opportunists.

— dave taft, New York Times, "The Biggest Bully on the Beach," 24 Jan. 2018
Trump’s supporters have labeled Daniels an opportunist and (far) worse.

— bill goodykoontz, azcentral, "Stormy Daniels interview on '60 Minutes' on alleged Trump affair was icky, kind of sad," 25 Mar. 2018
That, in turn, makes life easier for opportunists such as Mr Pruitt.

— The Economist, "Salting the Earth," 25 Jan. 2018
The defense lawyer has characterized the former Temple University women’s basketball manager in pretrial arguments as a gold-digging opportunist who fabricated her claims against Cosby in an attempt to win a big payday in court.

— laura mccrystal, Philly.com, "Bill Cosby paid Andrea Constand $3.4 million to settle 2005 lawsuit over assault, prosecutor says," 9 Apr. 2018
The Spurs might not be dead, but they are wounded, and opportunists already are contemplating the idea of picking through the bones.

— mike finger, San Antonio Express-News, "Spurs’ best deal might be one they didn’t make," 7 Apr. 2018
Looks like Peak TV has turned me into a raging opportunist.

— matthew gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, "Sorry, ‘Homeland,’ but I’m through with you," 21 Mar. 2018
Some in the administration also view Miller as an opportunist.

— josh dawsey, Washington Post, "Stephen Miller: Immigration agitator and White House survivor," 21 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'opportunist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.