as in inexperienced
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Recent Examples of would-be
For five days, would-be governors, senators and legislative hopefuls stream through the state Capitol to formally stake their claims to power, turning the Statehouse into a political parade.
—
AJC.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Throughout Lady, a would-be activist by the name of DJ Revolution (Seun Kuti) can be heard in voiceover and on the various car radios, speaking of the political unrest building in the city.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 2 Mar. 2026
In 2022, a would-be assassin was arrested for trying to kill Justice Kavanaugh at his home.
—Heather Abbott, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
Strong job growth fuels domestic and international in-migration, creating housing demand, while lower interest rates enhances affordability for would-be buyers.
—Travis Webb, Austin American Statesman, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for would-be
AJC.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Throughout Lady, a would-be activist by the name of DJ Revolution (Seun Kuti) can be heard in voiceover and on the various car radios, speaking of the political unrest building in the city.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 2 Mar. 2026
In 2022, a would-be assassin was arrested for trying to kill Justice Kavanaugh at his home.
—Heather Abbott, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
Strong job growth fuels domestic and international in-migration, creating housing demand, while lower interest rates enhances affordability for would-be buyers.
—Travis Webb, Austin American Statesman, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for would-be
Recent Examples of Synonyms for would-be
Adjective
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But Miami is using an inexperienced quarterback, who had struggled on every level of the game with the exception of spot playing time the past two years, to do so?—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
12 Mar. 2026
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One year ago, Georgetown was deemed too small and too inexperienced – yet the Royals developed a hard-nosed defensive identity that led to their first state championship in program history.—
Justin Barrasso,
Boston Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Publicly available satellite imagery shows the school building was part of the military compound until about 2017, when a new wall was added to separate the two.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
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Rosenthal believes stories about kids feeling nervous or afraid to try new things connect with both children and adults.—
Lisa Boone,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Originally hesitant about using the relatively untried medium of radio in this way, The King was reassured by a visit to the BBC in the summer of 1932 and agreed to take part.—
Stephanie Petit,
PEOPLE,
25 Dec. 2025
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The hitch is that Florida is dependent on an untried product.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
18 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Before Castro began preventing citizens from leaving the country, Cuba’s then-thriving professional leagues had already turned amateur, forcing top players such as Perez and Cárdenas to decide between pursuing their MLB careers or living a rewardless life as stars in Cuba.—
Tyler Carmona,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
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However, thanks to the amateur astronomers who made journeys across the globe between October 2022 and March 2025 to witness 22 stellar occultations by the Didymos–Dimorphos system, Makadia and Chesley's team were able to calculate the change in the binary system's orbit around the sun.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Even if your sauce is properly seasoned, your dish will taste flat when unseasoned noodles are added.—
Elizabeth Brownfield,
Southern Living,
3 Mar. 2026
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Where girl dinner is a charming (if not a little bit dumb) smorgasbord of snacky things like cheese and pretzels and salami, boy kibble (🤢) consists of unseasoned ground beef and white rice, consumed for the protein of it all.—
Li Goldstein,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Dugger served as a backup through the beginning portion of the season before being dealt to the Steelers at the NFL trade deadline.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
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New York’s own ban, which went into effect during the current school year, has been widely praised by educators during its beginning months.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Meanwhile, the women faced with that pool of socially unskilled men have largely been overlooked.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2026
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Complex negotiations in large organizations often fail—not because the negotiators are inexperienced or unskilled but because they’re constrained by two structural challenges, agency and alignment, and by the ways organizations manage those challenges.—
Danny Ertel,
Harvard Business Review,
8 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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One potential—though untested—workaround would be for conferences, which are private entities, to serve as a joint employer that bargains with a players’ union.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
10 Mar. 2026
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With such new and untested systems prone to making mistakes, this is sorely needed.—
Parmy Olson,
Mercury News,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Would-be.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/would-be. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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