variants
also wannabee
as in follower
a person who adopts the appearance or behavior of another especially in an obvious way
an entrepreneur who seems to have made his fortune mainly by giving how-to-get-rich lectures to entrepreneurial wannabes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wannabe
The proceedings were more of a scrimmage on steroids than an actual game with the intent of giving incumbents, wannabes, and newbies the chance to make plays and get noticed by the new coaching staff.
—
Rich Thompson, Boston Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
Call it a banana republic run by dictator wannabes.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
The Franchise could have an exercise in spot-the-Kevin-Feige for industry wannabes.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Dec. 2024
The top secret agent of CONTROL is a role model for clumsy wannabe Steve Carell, though by the end, Agent 23 is the one throwing an explosive situation into total KAOS.
15.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Rich Thompson, Boston Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
Call it a banana republic run by dictator wannabes.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
The Franchise could have an exercise in spot-the-Kevin-Feige for industry wannabes.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Dec. 2024
The top secret agent of CONTROL is a role model for clumsy wannabe Steve Carell, though by the end, Agent 23 is the one throwing an explosive situation into total KAOS.
15.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabe
Noun
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Pope Francis, the first head of the Catholic Church from the Americas and a champion of people on the margins, passed away at age 88 on Easter Monday, leaving vacant his seat at the head of the ancient institution with 1.4 billion followers worldwide.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
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The strange thing, perhaps, is that a good proportion of Beckham’s social media followers might not see Beckham as a former footballer.—
Daniel Taylor,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
Noun
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Gizmo’s exploits with parrot brother Cosmo garnered some 13.3 million views on his site from Feb. 19 through Thursday, a glance at Kaplanis’ dashboard showed.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacramento Bee,
22 Mar. 2025
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Some of the parrots that can mimic sounds are the African gray, Amazon parrot, cockatoo and parakeet.—
Krystal Nurse,
USA TODAY,
14 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabe. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
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