opportunistic
adhering to a policy of opportunism; practicing opportunism.
Pathology.
(of a microorganism) causing disease only under certain conditions, as when a person's immune system is impaired.
(of a disease or infection) caused by such an organism: Pneumocystis pneumonia is an opportunistic disease that often strikes victims of AIDS.
Origin of opportunistic
1Other words from opportunistic
- op·por·tun·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
- un·op·por·tun·is·tic, adjective
Words that may be confused with opportunistic
- opportune, opportunistic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use opportunistic in a sentence
That’s because wildlife are opportunistic—once they obtain human food they will consistently return for more, Marion says.
Once you know what happens to food you leave outdoors, you’ll stop doing it | Alisha McDarris | January 14, 2021 | Popular-ScienceAll in all, the team observed 15 snakes using lasso locomotion, including one opportunistic wild snake that raided a nest box that the researchers had been observing outside of their test arena.
These snakes wiggle up smooth poles by turning their bodies into ‘lassoes’ | Kate Baggaley | January 13, 2021 | Popular-ScienceThe government also fixed the price of face masks to prevent opportunistic vendors from price gouging.
These Asian countries have masterfully limited COVID outbreaks. Here’s how they did it | Naomi Xu Elegant | December 28, 2020 | FortuneTo be sure, America’s own approach to global democracy has largely been opportunistic.
They can also be utilized opportunistically to whip up anger against political enemies.
The Curious Case of Countries Where Being Gay Is a Crime | James Kirchick | January 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
We now have more capital than we anticipated, [which will] allow us to opportunistically build what we have not been able to do.
We must go at it seriously and scientifically and solidly, not superficially, casually, and opportunistically.
British Dictionary definitions for opportunistic
/ (ˌɒpətjʊˈnɪstɪk) /
of or characterized by opportunism
med (of an infection) caused by any microorganism that is harmless to a healthy person but debilitates a person whose immune system has been weakened by disease or drug treatment
Derived forms of opportunistic
- opportunistically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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