Opportune in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice

Opportune means suitable or well-timed, describing a moment that fits what you need to do. To use opportune in a sentence, place it before a noun such as moment or time, or after the verb be: “Her arrival was opportune.” The adjective praises timing, not luck in general.

Opportune at a glance

• Opportune is an adjective; its opposite is inopportune and its adverb is opportunely.
• The dominant pattern is opportune + moment or time, and it also follows the verb be.
• The word judges fit and convenience, not chance, so it answers the question for what purpose.
• Common collocations are opportune moment, opportune time and opportune arrival.
• The comparative most opportune ranks one moment against another in formal arguments.
• The commonest error is confusing the adjective opportune with the noun opportunity.

What does opportune mean?

Opportune is an adjective meaning suitable or well-timed, used of a moment, an arrival or a remark that fits the situation. The Cambridge entry for opportune stresses happening at a convenient time, which is why the word usually answers a purpose. An opportune pause helps a speaker; an inopportune moment is the same pause made at the wrong time.

One honest limitation is worth stating. Opportune always implies a purpose, so it is the wrong word when nothing is gained by the timing. A pleasant coincidence that changes nothing is merely chance, and a delay that costs nothing is simply not opportune for anyone in particular. Because the judgement depends on purpose, the adjective rarely stands alone; a sentence that names neither the plan nor the benefit leaves opportune empty.

How do you use opportune in a sentence?

Opportune is most at home before a noun of timing and perfectly acceptable after the verb be. Five patterns cover nearly every real sentence, and the comparative form appears in arguments about which moment suited best.

Because the adjective judges fit rather than urgency, it often appears with a to-infinitive that states the action the moment allows. That construction is where careful writers place the purpose the reader needs, and it is the pattern that separates opportune from a bare comment about time.

Opportune in a sentence: examples across contexts

Opportune moves easily from conversation to a business report because it always names timing. The ten sentences below show a different purpose each time, so the reader can see what the moment suits.

Opportune vs timely

Opportune and timely both praise timing, and they are not interchangeable. A timely warning arrives just in time to prevent harm, while an opportune moment simply suits a purpose you already had.

Verdict: choose timely when something rescues a situation at the last moment, and opportune when a moment quietly suits a plan you were already pursuing. The two also differ in what they assume about the outcome: timely usually points to something that was prevented, while opportune may describe a moment that merely made a task easier and cost nothing to miss.

Word forms and grammar of opportune

Opportune builds a small family around timing, and the related noun an opportunity is far more common than the adjective itself. The table also lists a form that is not standard English.

Notice that the adjective and the noun are not interchangeable in a sentence. Opportune describes the moment, while opportunity names the chance itself, and only the noun can be the object of have or give. The noun opportunism is a further step away, since it carries a negative judgement about self-interest.

Common mistakes with opportune

• Incorrect: I had an opportune to travel last year. Correct: I had an opportunity to travel last year. Rule: Opportune is an adjective; the noun for a chance is opportunity.
• Incorrect: We met at an opportune time for lunch, as usual. Correct: We met at a convenient time for lunch, as usual. Rule: Opportune implies a purpose the timing serves, not a merely suitable hour.
• Incorrect: She was opportuned to lead the project. Correct: She had the opportunity to lead the project. Rule: Opportuned is not standard English; use the noun with have.
• Incorrect: The rain came in an opportune moment. Correct: The rain came at an opportune moment. Rule: Opportune moments take the preposition at, not in.
• Incorrect: The weather was opportune to travel. Correct: The weather was opportune for traveling. Rule: Opportune takes for before a gerund, not to.

Practice using opportune

Work through the six items, then read the reason beside each answer.

1. Fill the gap: The quiet morning was ______ for repainting the hall.
2. Choose the better word: The lifeguard’s (opportune / timely) shout stopped the swimmer before the current turned.
3. Correct the error: He was opportuned to meet the author at the fair.
4. Build a sentence: use an opportune moment about asking a teacher a question.
5. Spot the register: which suits a business memo — this is an opportune time to review costs, or this is a good time to look at costs?
6. Rewrite with the opposite: The delay was opportune for the builders. Use inopportune.
7. Use the adverb: Rewrite the meeting ended on time, and luckily so. Use opportunely.

Answers

1. opportune — the morning suits the purpose of painting, which is what the adjective judges.
2. timely — the shout prevents harm just in time, so timely is the right praise.
3. He had the opportunity to meet the author — opportuned is not standard, so use the noun.
4. Model answer: After the test, there was an opportune moment to ask about the homework.
5. This is an opportune time to review costs — a memo prefers the formal adjective.
6. The delay was inopportune for the builders — the prefix in- reverses the judgement of timing.
7. Model answer: The meeting ended opportunely, just before the storm — the adverb modifies the timing of the verb.

The bottom line

Use opportune in a sentence to say that a moment suits a purpose, and keep the purpose visible nearby. The two details that decide most sentences are that the adjective describes timing rather than luck, and that it usually attaches to moment, time or arrival. Read the sentence back and confirm the purpose is clear; if it is not, opportune is doing less work than a plain phrase would. When the benefit is avoiding harm, choose an auspicious start only for beginnings and timely for warnings; when the benefit is simple ease, a convenient slot is plainer, and a propitious season belongs to a whole venture rather than a single moment.

Frequently asked questions about opportune

Is opportune a common word?

Opportune is fairly common in formal writing and journalism but rarer in casual speech. The fixed phrase an opportune moment keeps it alive, while the related noun opportunity is far more frequent. A speaker who wants to sound natural will often say a good moment instead and keep opportune for written work.

What is the opposite of opportune?

The opposite is inopportune, meaning badly timed or unsuitable. An inopportune interruption comes at a moment that disrupts rather than helps. Other near-opposites are untimely, which stresses that something arrived too early or too late, and unfortunate, which judges the outcome rather than the timing.

Can opportune describe a person?

Only indirectly. Opportune describes timing, so you write an opportune arrival or an opportune decision, not an opportune person. If somebody seems naturally good at choosing moments, describe the moments they choose. A person is described by fortunate, tactful or well timed, never by opportune itself.

What is the difference between opportune and propitious?

Opportune means the moment suits your purpose. Propitious adds a sense of favourable signs or conditions, and it often describes a promising set of circumstances rather than a single instant. A propitious season favours a whole venture, while an opportune moment favours one action taken now.