Definition of opportunistic
: taking advantage of opportunities as they arise: such asa : exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle (see principle 1) or consequences a politician considered opportunistic an opportunistic investmentb : feeding on whatever food is available opportunistic feeders opportunistic bearsc : being or caused by a usually harmless microorganism that can become pathogenic when the host's resistance is impaired opportunistic infections opportunistic diseases
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of opportunistic from the Web
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Every opponent can agree: Opportunistic is the best way to describe these Penguins.
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Lining Already some of the more opportunistic money appears to have pulled back from the market, with the bid from relative value hedge funds from the U.S. said to have faded.
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The lead would extend to 5-1 with Curry and Jacob Kelly scoring 1:07 apart early in the second quarter before the Eagles would prove opportunistic on two-man advantage situations to pull within two goals at the break.
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The Jets´ typically opportunistic defense scored on interception returns of 60 yards by Aaron Glenn and 63 yards by Victor Green to spark a 24-0 rout.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'opportunistic'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
1892
First Known Use of opportunistic
1892
Medical Dictionary
opportunistic
playMedical Definition of opportunistic
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
Learn More about opportunistic
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See words that rhyme with opportunistic Spanish Central: Translation of opportunistic Nglish: Translation of opportunistic for Spanish speakers
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