variants
also wannabees
as in followers
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 wannabes
Best Toy from a Film Franchise Dragon rider wannabees can put their dreams into motion by bonding and engaging with the ever-playful Toothless.
—
Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
Just about everyone gets a little pat on the head from ESPN for a big home weekend, but cutesy wannabes don’t get featured on the road.
—Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
Just about everyone gets a little pat on the head from ESPN for a big home weekend, but cutesy wannabes don’t get featured on the road.
—Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabes
Noun
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Kurt Caz, a white South African social-media star with millions of followers across platforms, first gained popularity through filming his defiant tours of dangerous neighborhoods in countries such as Venezuela and Kenya.—
T. M. Brown,
New Yorker,
15 Oct. 2025
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As the leader of some 50 million Catholic followers in the United States, the Pope is perhaps the second-most influential American in the world.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The oud that launched a thousand imitators, and still outclasses them all.—
Adam Hurly,
Robb Report,
16 Oct. 2025
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Could Lightfighter – and the imitators likely to follow – even raise interest in track riding, in a world where modern sportbike performance long ago outpaced what could be exploited prudently on public roads?—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wannabes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabes. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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