opportunist

noun

ˌä-pər-ˈtü-nist How to pronounce opportunist (audio)
Definition of opportunistnext
1
as in chameleon
a person who dexterously and expediently changes or adopts opinions ever the opportunist, she immediately set about becoming the incoming administrator's new best friend

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in bottom-feeder
one who does things only for his own benefit and with little regard for right and wrong an opportunist who makes friends and then drops them as soon as they aren't useful anymore

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of opportunist In Chicago, perpetrators are a mix of opportunists and more sophisticated networks often tied to street gangs. — Kiel Porter, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026 Outside investors demanding asset sales, larger dividends or changes in management were often portrayed as short-term opportunists that are more interested in extracting cash than building enduring businesses. — Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Those opportunists are rumen microbes called methanogens, and their waste product is methane, a notoriously powerful heat-trapping greenhouse gas. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 27 July 2026 In a review of tap-to-pay cases across the country, CNBC found a mix of low-level opportunists and organized crime rings. — Gabrielle Fonrouge,scott Zamost,anna Gleason, CNBC, 17 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for opportunist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opportunist
  1. chameleon
  2. bottom-feeder
  3. shark
  4. self-seeker
  5. egotist
  6. egoist
  7. schemer
Noun
  • Many of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on Earth, among them lemurs, chameleons, and a remarkable variety of birds and reptiles.
    — Cherri Briggs, Travel + Leisure, 13 Oct. 2026
  • For a chameleon, an actor who spent a lifetime resisting other people’s definitions of him, that might be the ultimate paradox.
    — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of chameleon
Noun
  • Notre Dame men's hoops has become a bottom-feeder in the ACC under Micah Shrewsberry, with a losing record in each of his three seasons, and its best players bolted for better NIL opportunities in the spring.
    — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • Use worms fished right on the bottom to entice the subtle-striking bottom-feeders.
    — Chad Mason, Outdoor Life, 3 June 2026
Definition of bottom-feeder
Noun
  • Six sharks received cortisol implants dissolved in coconut oil, while six others received coconut oil alone.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Grace is in full-on shark mode, taking Kate with her to the greenhouse to fetch some basil for the negronis Todd is whipping up (basil is not actually a garnish for a negroni, but nobody is going to say that to Grace).
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of shark
Noun
  • Thus the self-seekers and the doctrinaires were drawn together into an alliance to maintain the status quo, and all its abuses and inequalities were made sacrosanct.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2011
Definition of self-seeker
Noun
  • Fittingly, the song’s thumping beat is heard twice, real loud, in Rosebush Pruning, Karim Aїnouz’s high-gloss, pitch-dark satire about an American family described by one of its scions as mediocre, vapid egotists, who will never have to work thanks to a large inheritance.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Definition of egotist
Noun
  • By default, these devices mark the wearer not only as a geek, but as a try-hard and an egoist.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The former vice-president’s characterizations of peers such as Pete Buttigieg (talented but too gay for the America to accept as her running mate), and Josh Shapiro (an egoist) are not particularly juicy, but have already caused bad blood.
    — Book Marks September 25, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
Definition of egoist
Noun
  • Editor’s pick More picks How a bootlegging schemer launched the tiki movement from his tiny Hollywood bar.
    — Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Matt Damon plays Odysseus as a gruff, practical tactician, rather than an energetically inventive and morally dubious schemer.
    — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
Definition of schemer

Browse Nearby Words

opportunism
opportunist
opportunistic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Opportunist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opportunist. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All