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
In 2022, when McKee was seeking his first full four-year term in a crowded field of wannabes that included Foulkes in her first run, McKee got the votes of 81 of 159 delegates, edging out then Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, who took 58 votes.
—
Katherine Gregg,
The Providence Journal,
20 June 2026
Kelly spends the first half of his book running through a who’s who of the New England underworld, gangsters and mob wannabes who likely came into contact with the art before the investigation reached Maine and Gentile.
—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
22 Mar. 2026
All the young, single Carolyn Bessette wannabes were vying for his attention.
—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
22 Mar. 2026
Plenty of Kennedy wannabes showed up too late to compete, like brothers Denny and Enny—models, actors, and content creators who are originally from Montenegro and now live in Williamsburg.
—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
9 Mar. 2026
From the dealmakers in the Polo Lounge to the celebs hiding away in the spacious bungalows, all manner of tastemakers and wannabes have stopped by the Pink Palace at some time or another.
—
Tim Chester,
Robb Report,
5 Mar. 2026
The Dodgers’ split-squad group that journeyed the 14 miles from Glendale (and ultimately lost to Texas, 7-6) was largely a skeleton crew of Triple-A bound prospects and wannabes.
—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
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
Katherine Gregg,
The Providence Journal,
20 June 2026
Kelly spends the first half of his book running through a who’s who of the New England underworld, gangsters and mob wannabes who likely came into contact with the art before the investigation reached Maine and Gentile.
—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
22 Mar. 2026
All the young, single Carolyn Bessette wannabes were vying for his attention.
—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
22 Mar. 2026
Plenty of Kennedy wannabes showed up too late to compete, like brothers Denny and Enny—models, actors, and content creators who are originally from Montenegro and now live in Williamsburg.
—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
9 Mar. 2026
From the dealmakers in the Polo Lounge to the celebs hiding away in the spacious bungalows, all manner of tastemakers and wannabes have stopped by the Pink Palace at some time or another.
—
Tim Chester,
Robb Report,
5 Mar. 2026
The Dodgers’ split-squad group that journeyed the 14 miles from Glendale (and ultimately lost to Texas, 7-6) was largely a skeleton crew of Triple-A bound prospects and wannabes.
—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabes
Noun
-
Throughout the journey, Pfendler documented life alone at sea for hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, sharing the physical and mental challenges of crossing one of the world's largest oceans.
-
His gift for lyrics that were both deeply humane and sharply critical has endured for generations, inspiring followers such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Noun
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But the arrival of Buc-ee's supercharged the trend and spawned imitators like Wally's, which has three 50,000-square-foot locations in the Midwest, with plans for more.
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The frontier labs keep shipping the next capability while the imitators are still training on the last one, and the value keeps accruing to whoever is ahead rather than to whoever copied the leader's previous answers.
Noun
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There may be echoes of history on George’s first day.
-
Instead of a handheld probe sweeping across your skin, a ring of transducers surrounds the body underwater and fires sound waves from every angle at once, reconstructing a full 3D volume from the echoes.
Cite this Entry
“Wannabes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabes. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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