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You may have wondered what an opportunist is if you follow discussions in politics and business. In everyday language, however, the term primarily describes a negative character trait.
What Is an Opportunist? Everyday Language, Business, and Biology
What an opportunist is depends on the context in which the word is used. Most often, however, it is used in everyday or formal language.
- The origin of the word “opportun” is derived from Latin. The adjective opportunus means favorable, convenient, or suitable. The word likely originated from the root portus (harbor) to describe a particularly favorable harbor location.
- In colloquial language, an opportunist is someone who quickly adapts to a given situation in order to profit from it. However, the opportunist does not care about values that go beyond their own gain or success.
- When someone is described as an opportunist, it means that the person acts without moral or ethical principles and is concerned only with their own benefit.
- Political and economic strategies can be opportunistic. The focus is on profit at any or almost any cost.
- In biology, the term “opportunist” is also used. It refers to species that can adapt to various environmental conditions. Humans, for example, are an opportunistic species. The opposite of this are specialists.
