opportunistic

adjective

op·​por·​tu·​nis·​tic ˌä-pər-tü-ˈni-stik 

-tyü-

: taking advantage of opportunities as they arise: such as

a

: exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle (see principle sense 1) or consequences

a politician considered opportunistic

an opportunistic investment

b

: feeding on whatever food is available

opportunistic feeders

opportunistic bears

c

: being or caused by a usually harmless microorganism that can become pathogenic when the host's resistance is impaired

opportunistic infections

opportunistic diseases

opportunistically

ˌä-pər-tü-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē 

-tyü-

adverb

Examples of opportunistic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Combined with the removal of licensing procedures and training requirements, laws that broaden the right to use deadly force create a permissive environment for opportunistic violence. —Caroline Light, The Conversation, 17 Nov. 2025

Thanks to three takeaways by an opportunistic defense and a game-opening 98-yard kickoff return to the 1 by Skyy Moore, the 49ers (7-4) finished the game with the second best average starting field position by any team in the last three seasons. —CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025

How to Watch Texans vs Titans The Houston Texans (4–5) come into this showdown with a somewhat shaky but opportunistic vibe. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025

Stingy defense The Wolverines scored 121 and 85 in their first two games, but struggled all night against an opportunistic Horned Frogs defense that forced 22 turnovers. —Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

opportunist + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for opportunistic

• anachronistic
• animalistic
• antagonistic
• antiphlogistic
• behavioristic
• cannibalistic
• capitalistic
• characteristic
• collectivistic
• deterministic
• ethnolinguistic
• expressionistic

Kids Definition

opportunistic

noun

op·​por·​tu·​nis·​tic -t(y)ü-ˈnis-tik 

: taking advantage of opportunities as they arise: as

a

: exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle or consequences

an opportunistic cheater

b

: feeding on whatever food is available

opportunistic feeders

Medical Definition

opportunistic

adjective

op·​por·​tu·​nist·​ic -t(y)ü-ˈnis-tik 

1

: of, relating to, or being a microorganism that is usually harmless but can become pathogenic when the host's resistance to disease is impaired

2

: of, relating to, or being an infection or disease caused by an opportunistic organism

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and other opportunistic infections that kill AIDS patients

—New York Times