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

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wannabe The wildly energetic feature tells the real-life story of Scottish wannabe rappers Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd. Alex Ritman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025 The capital of Texas, Austin is a bustling metropolis that attracts everyone from tech giants to wannabe Willie Nelsons. Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 23 Aug. 2025 The precious journalists could strive for their Pulitzers, and the wannabe Ari Golds could have their Hollywood deals. Eric Benson, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2025 This seemingly harmless zombie who was Pugsley’s wannabe pet, has his own agenda. Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabe
Noun
  • At this year's Upfront advertising presentations, some companies, including Amazon's Prime Video, noted the recent success of podcast content as creators sign multimillion dollar deals and garner millions of followers and views.
    Laya Neelakandan, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Friedman, who has close to 8M followers on Instagram, is now launching his own talk show on YouTube.
    Peter White, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The oud that launched a thousand imitators, and still outclasses them all.
    Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The goofy tree-imitator Pokémon, whose rock typing has come off as a prank since its early second generation introduction, finally fulfills its destiny as a grass type thanks to this new battling phenomenon.
    Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • While watching parrot fish glide by the glass of the 250,000-gallon saltwater reef tank the Seaquarium has maintained for years, Martin said his team plans to build the kind of aquarium complex that will be interesting enough to justify visitors buying tickets just to see it.
    Pedro Portal, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
  • 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabe. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on wannabe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!