opportunist.

1. A person who uses changing circumstances for advantage, often with little commitment to consistent principles.

2. An organism that uses changing or temporarily favorable conditions to establish itself or expand.

3. An organism that causes infection particularly when host defenses or normal barriers are impaired.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a political opportunist
• a shrewd opportunist

On the page

The opportunist supported the cause only after its victory seemed likely.

She could not decide whether he was an opportunist or simply learning from events.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychological / character. Forms: Singular opportunist; plural opportunists. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.