wannabe
- noun
- /ˈwɒnəˌbi/
- Offensive
- Many wannabe actors flock to Hollywood, hoping to land their big break.
He was a spy wannabe and boy did he help us out.
- He was a spy wannabe and boy did he help us out.
- I'm telling you that would scare a lot of wannabe sort of gangsters growing up.
- I believe we've got a a wannabe Spaniard here.
- But he was a Charles Manson wannabe creating a master race with black women.
- They got all the wannabe tough guys in in Hollywood riding.
- This is an oligarch wannabe dictator.
- It sounds like ChatGPT is wannabe YouTuber.
- Would they say you're a wannabe Katy Perry or a poor man Stevie Nicks?
- And then after that, he wasn't like a he wasn't like a white wannabe black rapper.
- I've had it with wannabe influencers.
- Will Trump ever call out Russian media for this, saying he's a wannabe macho guy?
- But the bit is, here's where the fucking losers, the movie star wannabes, flipped on a dime.
- We go to his room and it's full of guys, hangers on, wannabes.
- He's out with his new book about victims, supposed wannabe glomming victims.
Examples
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I've had it with wannabe influencers.
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All's I see is another wannabe in a thousand-dollar suit.
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I had passed from wannabe to gonna be to finding how to be to simply being.
Fiction book (1994) -
So here is some advice from a "struggling to be green" human being and a "wannabe" technology teacher.
Academic text (2010) -
Oh well I say which is worse, a wannabe boss or a work snitch?
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Have you got any advice for any future wannabe would be vloggers?
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A whole bunch of Tom Brady wannabes did.
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When the parents of the wannabes keep them home, the hard-core delinquent loses his street corner support system.
Academic text (2000) -
As Bennett moved up, his successor was the wife of Wyoming politician and presidential wannabe Dick Cheney.
Academic text (1995) -
Years ago, personal trainers were found mostly in gyms helping Arnold Schwarzenegger wannabes pump iron.
Academic text (2001)
Synonyms
A person who wants to achieve something, often in a competition
A person who wants an important job or position
A person who wants to be like a famous or successful person
A person who wants to reach their goals in work or life
Antonyms
How Ambitious
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word wannabe comes from the spoken phrase wanna be, a quick way of saying 'want to be'. So a wannabe is someone who 'wants to be' another person or a star, often without the real skill or experience.