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
This capital will be directed towards organic growth, value-accretive M&A, attractive, progressive dividends (50% dividend payout ratio), and opportunistic share buybacks.
—
Joe Cornell, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
Before then, coach Mikey Varas and squad will attempt to learn from several defensive breakdowns that, exploited by opportunistic Houston, showed how vulnerable a first-place team can be.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
Luna, the Real Salt Lake star who has become a leader of this Gold Cup group, grabbed the opportunistic first goal after Luca de la Torre’s shot from distance was parried back into the box.
—Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 3 July 2025
The story of a loser who's lucky at gambling, The Winner cast Madsen as Wolf, the opportunistic brother of D'Onofrio's Phillip.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for opportunistic
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.
Joe Cornell, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
Before then, coach Mikey Varas and squad will attempt to learn from several defensive breakdowns that, exploited by opportunistic Houston, showed how vulnerable a first-place team can be.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
Luna, the Real Salt Lake star who has become a leader of this Gold Cup group, grabbed the opportunistic first goal after Luca de la Torre’s shot from distance was parried back into the box.
—Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 3 July 2025
The story of a loser who's lucky at gambling, The Winner cast Madsen as Wolf, the opportunistic brother of D'Onofrio's Phillip.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for opportunistic
Cite this Entry
“Opportunistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opportunistic. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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
New York TimesLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share