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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabes
Noun
-
Most of his followers are locals or close to local.—
Max Darrow,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Since winning double Olympic gold in Milan last month, figure skater Alysa Liu has amassed 8 million Instagram followers (and counting), attended Paris fashion week, hobnobbed at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, received a key to the city of Oakland and received murals painted in her honor.—
Sara Germano,
Sportico.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
For decades, Gallup’s company and its imitators improved their techniques.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
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Along the way, the festival has outlasted many imitators and weathered shifting food trends by staying nimble.—
Peter Burke,
FOXNews.com,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Scientists found echoes of human presence dating back to around 14,500 years ago, including footprints, wooden tools, foundations for a building and the remains of an ancient fire pit.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
-
When numerous low-altitude targets appear, radar systems detect them amid the clutter – unwanted echoes from terrain, sea surfaces, rain or buildings – before identifying and continuously tracking them, reported SCMP.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wannabes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabes. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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