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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Recent Examples of opportunistic
Carrying the marks of each new regime, generations come and go — a Jewish family, an opportunistic architect and his wife, an idealistic writer, and her granddaughter.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2026
To regulate online commerce sensibly, policymakers ought to look to the essence and effects of digital business practices and renounce proposals predicated on shortsighted or opportunistic naming conventions.
—David B McGarry, Oc Register, 9 Apr. 2026
That rally has been a boon for investment firms of ultra-wealthy families who made opportunistic bets on oil in recent years.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
One of the best-skating prospects in the world, the 5-10, 178-pound Potter is a smallish but talented player who uses his electric speed to put defenders on their heels, create opportunistic chances, get out in transition and jump onto loose pucks.
—Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for opportunistic
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2026
To regulate online commerce sensibly, policymakers ought to look to the essence and effects of digital business practices and renounce proposals predicated on shortsighted or opportunistic naming conventions.
—David B McGarry, Oc Register, 9 Apr. 2026
That rally has been a boon for investment firms of ultra-wealthy families who made opportunistic bets on oil in recent years.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
One of the best-skating prospects in the world, the 5-10, 178-pound Potter is a smallish but talented player who uses his electric speed to put defenders on their heels, create opportunistic chances, get out in transition and jump onto loose pucks.
—Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for opportunistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opportunistic
Adjective
-
Gregory Bovino, the controversial head of aggressive enforcement activities in Chicago and Minneapolis, resigned from the agency.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
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That approach, paired with more outreach to Black residents, may help increase the city’s affordable housing stock and close the gap in Black homeownership, though some city council members have urged a more aggressive push on affordable housing.—
Lily Carey,
Baltimore Sun,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
These trees need proper attention to grow to their full potential—pruning is essential, as is being diligent against pests.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Defenseman Jacob Moverare was highlighted with the Daryl Evans Youth Hockey Service Award for his diligent and enthusiastic work with the Kings’ learn-to-play program.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In the original, which opened in 2006 and grossed $326 million worldwide, Hathaway’s Andy is an aspiring journalist who becomes the personal assistant to Streep’s Miranda.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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To each of these aspiring writers, Meredith sent a brochure advertising his services.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The pop of gloves and laughter of children rang through the field for a while — until a few industrious boys and girls got their manos on bolígrafos.—
Ryan Finley,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
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The social media content that comes out of the sprawling music festival screams spontaneity, but industrious planning is often buzzing behind the scenes weeks, or sometimes even months, in advance.—
Kaitlyn Huamani,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The second-youngest of eight children, Gordy hailed from an enterprising Detroit family with Georgia plantation roots, including several sisters who had carved successful business paths.—
Brian McCollum,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
-
All Stanford students are ambitious, but many of the most enterprising among them drop out.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Real-time obstacle detection means the K1 identifies and navigates around objects in its path, while dynamic cutting adaptation adjusts its approach based on terrain changes.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
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An index of spot prices for dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, chips has risen more than 500% since the end of August.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Opportunistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opportunistic. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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