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
Examples of opportunistic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some domestic critics accuse Sánchez’s government of opportunistic grandstanding.
—
Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 13 May 2026
Such opportunistic eavesdropping is challenging, because Starlink is consistently optimizing for its primary satellite Internet service by turning beams on and off, or sometimes switching beams as the fast-moving satellites talk to many different users, Kassas explained.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026
Raccoons are clever, opportunistic feeders, eating whatever’s readily available, including plant and animal matter, garbage, pet food, bird seed, vegetable gardens, and eggs from chicken coops.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 May 2026
Because it was built in an opportunistic, incremental manner with no foresight or intentionality.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for opportunistic
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Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 13 May 2026
Such opportunistic eavesdropping is challenging, because Starlink is consistently optimizing for its primary satellite Internet service by turning beams on and off, or sometimes switching beams as the fast-moving satellites talk to many different users, Kassas explained.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026
Raccoons are clever, opportunistic feeders, eating whatever’s readily available, including plant and animal matter, garbage, pet food, bird seed, vegetable gardens, and eggs from chicken coops.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 May 2026
Because it was built in an opportunistic, incremental manner with no foresight or intentionality.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for opportunistic
Cite this Entry
“Opportunistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opportunistic. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
