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

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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

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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 The cynical case is that Zuckerberg is a hollow opportunist who wishes to ingratiate himself with the new administration. The Editors, National Review, 8 Jan. 2025 Far more than a mere villain, Macrinus is a saboteur and opportunist in this Roman Empire epic, where those taken as slaves are forced to fight in an arena before an audience with a grim outcome: kill or be killed. Ronda Racha Penrice, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2024 While often associated with stock market predictions and opportunist market plays, it is more widely used to highlight unusual activities across various financial systems, including payments, trading and regulatory compliance. Bhavdeep Sethi, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024 But Putin is not an opportunist, at least not on Ukraine. Peter Schroeder, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for opportunist 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opportunist
Noun
  • To longtime observers, however, Fetterman has always been a bit of a chameleon.
    Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 16 Jan. 2025
  • For that matter, most critics are aesthetic chameleons.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Along with Dan Campbell, Glenn helped Detroit go from bottom-feeders to Super Bowl contenders.
    Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 24 Jan. 2025
  • This wasn’t the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz or other bottom-feeder team the New York Knicks have faced in recent weeks.
    James L. Edwards III, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Megalodon teeth once belonged to the largest predatory shark ever to exist and can stretch over seven inches from top to bottom.
    Terry Ward, Outside Online, 19 Jan. 2025
  • In August, three former employees of the aquarium came out as whistleblowers, alleging that a culture of negligence and poor facilities management led to the starving deaths of two sharks and the likely suffocations of dozens of other animals at the SeaQuest aquarium.
    Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • At times, egoists can approach absurdity and drag their countries into outright disaster.
    Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2019
  • McCarthy’s difficulties highlighted the power of hard-right extremists and social-media egoists among the fragile Republican majority in the House.
    Steve Coll, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2023

Thesaurus Entries Near opportunist

Cite this Entry

“Opportunist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opportunist. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.

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