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
Young courtesan wannabe Gigi (Leslie Caron) and Parisian playboy Gaston (Louis Jourdan) see each other as just friends, until romance intercedes in the musical confection.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 12 Mar. 2026
Plenty of Kennedy wannabes showed up too late to compete, like brothers Denny and Enny—models, actors, and content creators who are originally from Montenegro and now live in Williamsburg.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 9 Mar. 2026
From the dealmakers in the Polo Lounge to the celebs hiding away in the spacious bungalows, all manner of tastemakers and wannabes have stopped by the Pink Palace at some time or another.
—Tim Chester, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2026
The Dodgers’ split-squad group that journeyed the 14 miles from Glendale (and ultimately lost to Texas, 7-6) was largely a skeleton crew of Triple-A bound prospects and wannabes.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 12 Mar. 2026
Plenty of Kennedy wannabes showed up too late to compete, like brothers Denny and Enny—models, actors, and content creators who are originally from Montenegro and now live in Williamsburg.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 9 Mar. 2026
From the dealmakers in the Polo Lounge to the celebs hiding away in the spacious bungalows, all manner of tastemakers and wannabes have stopped by the Pink Palace at some time or another.
—Tim Chester, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2026
The Dodgers’ split-squad group that journeyed the 14 miles from Glendale (and ultimately lost to Texas, 7-6) was largely a skeleton crew of Triple-A bound prospects and wannabes.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabe
Noun
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Last year, the Auschwitz Memorial Museum — after hearing from numerous followers about such posts — published a warning about AI Holocaust posts.—
Toby Axelrod,
Sun Sentinel,
11 May 2026
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The 21,000-square-foot home sits on the land where actress Sharon Tate, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant, was killed in August 1969 by followers of cult leader Charles Manson.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
Noun
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By early 1985, IBM—the computing giant that dominated corporate America—and its imitators had captured nearly half the personal computer market, up from about a third just months earlier.—
Geoffrey Cain,
Vanity Fair,
11 May 2026
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Well, actually the worst thing would be to have a — a really good imitator of any president that came along.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
9 May 2026
Noun
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But does that have echoes in what’s going on outside our window?—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
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In an echo of Pliny the Younger’s account, the second skeleton, that of a somewhat older man, was found with a terracotta bowl near his head.—
Anne Doran,
ARTnews.com,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabe. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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