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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Recent Examples of wannabes
Other wannabes came with security.
—
Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
This is not an attention-grabbing field of gubernatorial wannabes, to put it politely.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Glatzer, who serves as executive producer, writer, and showrunner of the new series, sought to focus on wannabes rather than billionaires, and also consciously expanded the story beyond tech bros.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
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
Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
This is not an attention-grabbing field of gubernatorial wannabes, to put it politely.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Glatzer, who serves as executive producer, writer, and showrunner of the new series, sought to focus on wannabes rather than billionaires, and also consciously expanded the story beyond tech bros.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabes
Noun
-
Claudia Sulewski, who began her career as a beauty vlogger in 2009 — amassing nearly seven million followers across platforms — has now made the transition to Hollywood.—
Anna Tingley,
Variety,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Madeline, with her background in marketing and event management, oversees operations, fulfills orders and manages social media — no easy feat for an Instagram account that boasted 10,000 followers well before opening day.—
Julianna Chen,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The popularity of products like Meta Ray-Bans has opened up a new market of imitators who are in an arms race to make their smart glasses as ethically dubious as possible, perhaps with a little help from AI or facial recognition software.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Although Rudolph’s concrete architecture was more complex and soulful than that of many of his imitators, that difference was often overlooked.—
Anthony Paletta,
Curbed,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That quotation alludes to the many Proustian echoes in Bowen’s story set in an aristocratic Big House during the 1919-21 War of Independence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Especially in scenes featuring a band’s de facto leader and a willful drummer, there are also thematic echoes of Peter Jackson’s documentary about The Beatles, another example of the above dichotomy.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wannabes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabes. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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