as in inexperienced
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Recent Examples of would-be
This is where many would-be thought leaders falter.
—
Rhea Wessel, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
Now the would-be governor has already put up $2 million of his own money to get his campaign rolling.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 28 June 2025
Unfortunately, one of the riders is local resident Vijay (Saksham Sharma), who becomes the target of three would-be kidnappers — including the lethal Jeet (Amelia Bishop) — who take over the bus.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 June 2025
With just three weeks until writer-director James Gunn’s Superman soars into theaters on July 11th as the first superhero would-be blockbuster of 2025 summer movie season and the official live-action kickoff of the DCU.
—Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for would-be
Rhea Wessel, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
Now the would-be governor has already put up $2 million of his own money to get his campaign rolling.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 28 June 2025
Unfortunately, one of the riders is local resident Vijay (Saksham Sharma), who becomes the target of three would-be kidnappers — including the lethal Jeet (Amelia Bishop) — who take over the bus.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 June 2025
With just three weeks until writer-director James Gunn’s Superman soars into theaters on July 11th as the first superhero would-be blockbuster of 2025 summer movie season and the official live-action kickoff of the DCU.
—Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for would-be
Recent Examples of Synonyms for would-be
Adjective
-
The veteran outfielder has been trying to adjust to a new role as a platoon DH this season.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
12 July 2025
-
The mayor has yet to internalize how much City Hall’s elaborate bait-and-switch on voters in winning approval of much-higher-than-promised new trash fees on 226,000-plus single-family homes has damaged his reputation.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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Better yet, take the train north to Fort Tryon Park, and study untried ones.—
Walker Mimms,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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One of City’s greatest financial successes has been their ability to generate vast sums for largely untried young players.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
The Athletic,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Both pans come unseasoned, but there’s one major difference—the Blue Carbon pan gets a heat-treatment, which prevents corrosion and rust, while the Mineral B pan comes with a beeswax coating for rust resistance during shipping.—
Jesse Raub,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 June 2025
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Simply combine 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon salt.—
Gretchen McKay,
Twin Cities,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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This is a far cry from the beginning days of their relationship in 2016, when Justin was fresh off his number one album Purpose, which would go on to be certified six times platinum and be nominated for four Grammys.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
21 May 2025
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The beginning weeks of DOGE earlier this year were marked by chaos and confusion as the group carried out mass layoffs and spending cuts across federal agencies.—
Miranda Nazzaro,
The Hill,
1 May 2025
Adjective
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Two thirds of them were unskilled working-class men.—
Christopher R. Browning,
The New York Review of Books,
27 Mar. 2025
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That doesn't mean that those employees were unskilled.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
5 May 2025
Adjective
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Greif: Though Houston ended last season with the West’s second-best record, that seed didn’t scare anybody entering the postseason; the Rockets were too inexperienced and untested and lost in the first round.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
3 July 2025
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Skipping this governance checkpoint essentially means letting people create powerful and untested tools for decision making, which could be disastrous to an organization’s future success.—
Larry English,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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For the first installment, U.S. photographer Alec Soth shot the lush green scenery and karst limestone mountains near the Li river in Guilin.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
1 July 2025
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Leaning into the tropical vibes of the mani, the duo appropriately used a pool and a leafy green tree as the background of their photo opp.—
Ariana Yaptangco,
Glamour,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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Even the smallest, entry-level rooms have ample storage space, though these Inside cabins do lack windows and start at a cozy 151 square feet.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Travel + Leisure,
1 July 2025
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Their demands are modest—a higher entry-level salary ($50,000 a year rather than $45,000, still peanuts for a job based in Manhattan in 2022) and more diversity in hiring—demands that a publisher owned by one of the world’s largest media conglomerates should easily be able to provide.—
Maris Kreizman
July 1,
Literary Hub,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Would-be.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/would-be. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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