opportunistic

adjective

Definition of opportunisticnext
as in aggressive
attentive to and ready to act on opportunities for personal gain or advancement The opportunistic salesperson was always on the lookout for potential new customers.

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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 opportunistic Berkshire, Apple and ExxonMobil are pursuing different strategies, optionality and opportunistic investment, capital returns, and a combination of reinvestment and shareholder distributions but each illustrates the same principle. — Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 The opportunistic raccoon tickled many people online, with viewers calling the raccoon a rat in disguise and commenting on the price of hot dogs at the New York City stadium. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026 After years of being a defensive specialist who dabbled in being a playmaker, rebounder and opportunistic scorer, the 29-year-old has emerged as a bonafide bucket-getter for a team with title aspirations in just its second season of existence. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026 The collective research indicates that the opportunistic ruffed grouse eats just about anything. — Tom Huggler, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for opportunistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opportunistic
  1. aggressive
  2. diligent
  3. aspiring
  4. industrious
  5. enterprising
  6. dynamic
Adjective
  • The aggressive action will be closely watched by other states and school systems.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Tour participants described an aggressive interrogation by an Israeli border agent.
    — Daniel Estrin, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of aggressive
Adjective
  • More recently, diligent and passionate biologists, chemists, and experts from other disciplines have used technology for contemporary experiments that reveal a spectrum of plant consciousness.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Dark circles happen, acne pops up, and dark spots can even appear despite diligent sunscreen use.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of diligent
Adjective
  • Jeffery played Bree — an aspiring cheerleader at Seabrook High School who becomes friends with Addison (Meg Donnelly) — in the 2018 Disney Channel musical telefilm Zombies and would reprise the role in the 2020 and 2022 sequels.
    — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2026
  • After listening for hours to government tapes of Davis describing his role in the murder, jurors would be forgiven for thinking Keffe D was recorded almost as much as some aspiring rap artists.
    — John L. Smith, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of aspiring
Adjective
  • Alongside his final-third prowess, Fernandes was industrious across the pitch, playing eight passes into the final third per game, more than any other United player.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • North Korea has also become an industrious manufacturer of war drones, augmenting Moscow’s capacity to produce the unmanned aerial vehicles that have defined the conflict.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of industrious
Adjective
  • This feature helped enable what Nokia researchers called kiosks—informal pay-per-call services, in which an enterprising phone subscriber charged neighbors and family members by the minute for use of the device.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 13 July 2026
  • Their younger son’s back issues are indeed the least of the family’s problems, especially when a deal made with a more enterprising neighboring farmer winds up going bust.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Definition of enterprising
Adjective
  • Something at home could be bothering you more than you’d like to admit, perhaps a tense family dynamic or the fact that your apartment is a literal mess.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Keeping that cut quality consistent over a full session also relies on active cooling around the transducer and blade area, alongside dynamic output adjustment (rated up to 50W) based on cutting load.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of dynamic

Browse Nearby Words

opportunist
opportunistic
opportunists
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Cite this Entry

“Opportunistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opportunistic. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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