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

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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 Musk, as the documentary makes clear, is a genuine if flawed technocratic visionary, a messianic opportunist, and something of a crackpot. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026 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 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
  • Emmy-winning Tatiana Maslany stars as Sarah Manning, an outsider and street-smart chameleon who witnesses the suicide of a woman who looks just like her.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026
  • 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
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
  • Eleven people remain missing after an 89-hour search; several survivors suffered injuries consistent with shark bites.
    — Jaimie Ding, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • While authorities have stressed the need to get Bukangi out to sea quickly, Kim said patience will be key, giving the shark time to adjust to the waters beyond the canal before venturing farther out.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 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

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Cite this Entry

“Opportunist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opportunist. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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