opportunist
/'ɔpətju:nist/ Cách viết khác : (opportunistic) /,ɔpətju:'nistik/
Definition
Noun:
- A person who takes advantage of opportunities as they arise, especially with little regard for principles or consequences. This often implies acting in a self-serving, expedient, or unethical manner to benefit from circumstances.
Adjective:
- Describing actions or behavior characterized by taking immediate advantage of situations for personal gain, often unethically. It is synonymous with "opportunistic."
Usage and Examples
Noun: He was seen as a political opportunist, changing his stance to match popular opinion. The business opportunist bought up all the supplies during the shortage to sell them at a high price.
Adjective (often used as "opportunistic"): Her opportunist approach to the negotiation shocked her more principled colleagues. The company made an opportunist bid for its struggling competitor.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- The term often carries a negative connotation, suggesting a lack of integrity or scruples. It implies that the person is guided by expediency rather than by consistent morals or long-term strategy.
- In biology and medicine, the adjective form "opportunistic" is used neutrally to describe infections or organisms that take advantage of weakened defenses (e.g., an ).
Variants and Related Words
- Opportunistic (adjective): The more common adjectival form. (e.g., )
- Opportunism (noun): The practice or policy of exploiting circumstances for immediate gain. (e.g., )
Synonyms
- Noun: Expedient, self-seeker, pragmatist (though pragmatist can be less negative).
- Adjective: Expedient, exploitative, calculating, unscrupulous.
Idioms and Phrases
- While there is no single common idiom with the exact word "opportunist," the concept is central to phrases like:
- To seize the opportunity: This is a neutral or positive phrase. An opportunist is someone who consistently seizes opportunities, often with a negative implication.
- Fair-weather friend: This idiom describes a person whose loyalty is opportunist, present only in good times.
Adjective
-
taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit
Noun
-
a person who places expediency above principle
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