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
-
Online, this generally meant that creators encouraged their followers to pair a healthy habit with a fun or existing one (scrolling while walking on the treadmill, for example) or to just link two good behaviors together (folding laundry between breaks of your at-home workout).—
Julia Landwehr,
Health,
18 May 2026
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With more than four million followers and billions of views across platforms, Garg has built a global fanbase through her sharp, deeply relatable observations on family, culture, and modern life.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
Noun
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And these are now increasingly fragile as a result of global unrest, climate change and a host of imitators.—
Rebekah Evans,
TheWeek,
19 May 2026
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The dish everyone comes for is the spicy rigatoni vodka, a plate that’s launched a thousand imitators across the country.—
Lauren Schuster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
18 May 2026
Noun
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The incident — with a few uncomfortable echoes of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — has sparked concerns and questions.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
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Viewers can expect this tale of neocolonialism with echoes of #MeToo to leave a sour taste in their mouths.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabe. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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