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

• chameleon

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

Being an opportunist isn't so bad, after all. —Ankit Pathak, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

To Robin Wright’s multimillionaire gallery owner Laura, her son’s new girlfriend is a sleazy opportunist, a gold digger who lies about her academic and professional credentials and goads Laura by going down on Daniel (Laurie Davidson) in Laura’s house with the door open. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025

In the end, ever an opportunist, Alvarez testified Oppenheimer was loyal to his country, yet wrong on nukes. —Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025

Freelance hunters planning to travel to this region should plan on being opportunists. —Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 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