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
Great powers are marked by their capacity to make painful choices—great-power wannabes have to make tough choices, too.
—
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabe
Noun
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Another client of Meinadier’s is Zach Lugo, a skateboarder with 10 million TikTok followers who gained followers for his comedic content.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
30 Sep. 2025
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Lee, one of the few female religious leaders of the 18th century, and her followers were known for worshipping through ecstatic song and movement.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Speaking of Ripley imitators, look no further than Saltburn.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
23 Sep. 2025
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Though Cox has a small role and Panettiere returns, the lack of legacy characters makes this feel like a cheap imitator at times.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Jessa Barniol, 38, a graphic designer and history buff who works as a tour guide at the Sacramento History Museum in Old Sacramento, had a faux dragon perched on her shoulder like a parrot and wore a top hat festooned with a pair of goggles.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
28 Sep. 2025
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An 1856 drawing of a popular San Francisco saloon known as the Cobweb Palace depicts a crowd of humans joined by two dogs, a pig, a parrot, and six monkeys.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
21 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabe. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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