wannabe

noun

wan·​na·​be ˈwä-nə-ˌbē 

variants or less commonly wannabee

1

: a person who wants or aspires to be someone or something else or who tries to look or act like someone else

2

: something (such as a company, city, or product) intended to rival another of its kind that has been successful

especially : one for which hopes have failed or are likely to fail

Synonyms

• follower
• imitator
• parrot

Examples of wannabe in a Sentence

an entrepreneur who seems to have made his fortune mainly by giving how-to-get-rich lectures to entrepreneurial wannabes

Recent Examples on the Web

Looking at the historical sample of data, the goal was to develop a set of rules that helped distinguish the genuine contenders from the pretenders and to narrow down as few actual champions as possible while simultaneously eliminating as many of the wannabes. —Neil Paine, New York Times, 17 June 2025

These are real veterans, not the local wannabes who give lip service to those who have been in the military but are somehow unable to credit the sacrifices of those who don’t share their political party. —Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 2025

Listen to this article St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration enjoyed by Irish and Irish wannabes alike. —Cathy Thomas, Orange County Register, 11 Mar. 2025

Like Hughes and every other 20-something, male wannabe in Nashville, Sadler had a prodigious mullet. —Keith Sharon, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from the phrase want to be

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wannabe

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy