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

The league has been opportunistic in adding more windows and games in recent years, and its recent investment in ESPN gives it even more flexibility to do so, with the league getting back a handful of games that had been on NFL Network. —Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 11 Mar. 2026

The precious metals market has long attracted opportunistic actors, and gold IRA investing is no exception. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026

Freshman Lila Sislo put Superior/Northwestern up 1-0 with an opportunistic goal with seven minutes remaining in the first period, pouncing on a loose puck in front of the crease. —Jim Hoehn, Twin Cities, 6 Mar. 2026

Scotto also believes that MPLX's strong balance sheet gives it financial flexibility to pursue opportunistic bolt-on acquisitions that align with its return criteria. —Tipranks.com Staff, CNBC, 1 Mar. 2026

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