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
That opportunistic behavior was documented at one of NDA’s Field to Fork events in Missouri in 2022, when a new hunter began to approach his first deer just as a skunk crawled onto the dead doe’s back and dug into the backstraps.
—
Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 23 May 2024
Continue reading … 'JUST A THIEF' – MSNBC legal analyst calls Cohen 'opportunistic thief' after admission of stealing thousands from Trump Org.
—Fox News, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for opportunistic 
Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 23 May 2024
Continue reading … 'JUST A THIEF' – MSNBC legal analyst calls Cohen 'opportunistic thief' after admission of stealing thousands from Trump Org.
—Fox News, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for opportunistic
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'opportunistic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near opportunistic
Cite this Entry
“Opportunistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opportunistic. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.
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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