Opportunistic

How to spell opportunistic

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce opportunistic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does opportunistic mean?

1. adjectiveTaking advantage of circumstances as they arise, often with an eye to personal gain rather than principle.

Opportunistic in a sentence

• The burglar made an opportunistic grab for the keys left in the door.

• Critics called the new tax break a purely opportunistic move before the election.

Where does opportunistic come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin opportunus, an adjective that literally described a wind blowing 'toward the harbour', from ob meaning 'toward' and portus meaning 'harbour' or 'port'. A favourable wind that carried a ship safely into port came to stand for any timely or advantageous circumstance, so opportunus broadened into the general sense of 'well timed' or 'convenient'. English took 'opportune' from Old French in the late 1300s, and the noun 'opportunist' arose in the 1800s for someone who seizes chances as they arise, often with a hint of self-interest. The adjective 'opportunistic' was then formed by adding the suffix -ic, and it carries that same double edge of being either resourceful or unprincipled. The hidden 'port' inside the word, the same root found in 'harbour', 'porter', and 'import', is a useful reminder that the double p comes from op- meeting port, not from any doubling you have to guess at.

How the word is built

• op- (from Latin ob-, toward)
• port (from portus, harbour)
• -un-
• -ist (one who)
• -ic (adjective)