opportunistic
adjective
op·por·tu·nis·tic
| \ ˌä-pər-tü-ˈni-stik
, -tyü-\
, -tyü-\
Definition of opportunistic
: 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
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Other Words from opportunistic
opportunistically
\ ˌä-pər-tü-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē
, -tyü- \
adverb
, -tyü- \
adverb
Examples of opportunistic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Meat-eating isn’t typical for parrots, but the birds have been known to be opportunistic. — Jenny Howard, National Geographic, "This toddler-size parrot was a prehistoric oddity," 6 Aug. 2019 Kamala Harris, Bill de Blasio, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand seemed particularly opportunistic in their attacks, and sometimes nasty. — Dana Milbank, The Mercury News, "Milbank: Biden was gloriously adequate in second Democratic debate," 1 Aug. 2019 Many of these pressures, however, will be opportunistic — old agendas seeking, through science, new momentum for respect. — George Will, Twin Cities, "George Will: Is the individual obsolete?," 17 July 2019 Sharks actually eat up to 3 pounds of fish a day and are opportunistic feeders. — Erin Davis And Katherine Dillinger, CNN, "Shark Awareness Day facts to make you rethink 'Jaws'," 14 July 2019 Andrej is also hot for his opportunistic new cohort, who, despite a girlfriend, has no problem getting busy with model-handsome Andrej as well. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: ‘Ladyworld’ with Maya Hawke,’ plus Bud doc ‘Kings of Beer,’ ‘Consequences’ and ‘Moop’," 1 Aug. 2019 On defense, South Carolina must become more opportunistic a season after forcing just 16 turnovers, more than just three SEC teams. — Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, "2019 College Football Rankings: No. 35 South Carolina strives to build on success, move up in SEC," 21 July 2019 Many saw his backing of Leave as opportunistic: then-prime minister David Cameron, the leader of Johnson’s party at the time, supported remaining in the EU. — Cassie Werber, Quartz, "The terrifying appeal of Boris Johnson, according to a Johnson voter," 18 July 2019 That also didn’t mean the Phillies wouldn’t be opportunistic about filling holes before July 31. — Jeremy Cluff, azcentral, "Adam Jones trade rumors: Arizona Diamondbacks shopping outfielder before MLB trade deadline," 15 July 2019These 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.
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More Definitions for opportunistic
opportunistic
adjective
op·por·tu·nist·ic
| \ -t(y)ü-ˈnis-tik
\
\
Medical 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
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