ˌäpə(r)ˈtünəd.ē, -(r).ˈtyü-, -nətē, -i noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English opportunite, from Middle French opportunité, from Latin opportunitat-, opportunitas, from opportunus + -itat-, -itas -ity
1.
a. : a combination of circumstances, time, and place suitable or favorable for a particular activity or action
the many small rivers … offered unlimited opportunities for water transport — American Guide Series: Rhode Island
artists are given opportunity to do creative work — American Guide Series: New Hampshire
b. : an advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances especially when affecting security, wealth, or freedom (as from constraint) : a time, place, or condition favoring advancement or progress
to strike out in search of new opportunities in new surroundings — H.S.Truman
sons of poor and ignorant farmers, blacksmiths, tanners and backwoodsmen, with few opportunities — E.G.Conklin
2. obsolete : fitness , competency
3. : the quality or state of being opportune : timeliness
4. archaic : convenience or advantage of situation
5.
[by confusion]
obsolete : importunity
Synonyms:
occasion , chance , break , time : opportunity indicates a combination of circumstances facilitating a certain action or inviting a certain decision
it was deemed advisable to continue the case … in order that we might have an opportunity of giving to the whole subject a more deliberate consideration — R.B.Taney
occasion is likely to convey the notion of the period or time at which an opportunity is offered; since this may be fleeting, occasion may suggest a combination of circumstances that are urgent and quite likely to evoke action or that have evolved in
afterward she can explain … as occasion shall require — F.W.Maitland
so long as a child is with adults, it has no occasion for the exercise of a number of important virtues — Bertrand Russell
chance is close to opportunity in this sense
the most challenging opportunity of all history — the chance to help create a new society — Wendell Willkie
It may suggest a situation arising accidentally
in war lay the greatest chance of his life — H.L.Mencken
or a fair situation arising in an equitable allotment of things
only those who have a special cause to plead will hold that … children of the poor [have] the same chances as those of the well-to-do — John Dewey
break , formerly a slang term and more common in the United States than in England, suggests a turn of luck or an opportunity offered by luck or by an act of kindliness from one with power or influence
not a single day of storm, not one day of flat calm, only a few days of variables did he experience. He had all the breaks — S.E.Morison
Communist promises of a better break for the common people — A.E.Stevenson b. 1900
time may be used as a synonym for opportune time or occasion
an adversary of no common prowess was watching his time — T.B.Macaulay