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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By then, Furlan had amassed roughly 8.6 million followers on the now-defunct social media app Vine — the most of any woman on the site.—
Nicole Briese,
People.com,
19 May 2025
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The club has four million followers on Instagram — double that of Sunday’s fellow finalists, United — and over 800k followers on TikTok.—
Asli Pelit,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
During this time, biologists also began to appreciate bird intelligence, starting with their studies of Alex, an African gray parrot who could count and identify objects.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Wired News,
11 May 2025
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Arid uplands and ephemeral wetlands host an exceptional array of life, from 13 species of frogs and more than 140 reptiles to 325 bird species like mulga parrots and nankeen kestrels.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabe. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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