would-be

Examples

• All

• Last year alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities apprehended some 540,000 would-be migrants along the Southwest border.

  Academic text (2011)

• Clearly, both Don Quijote and Prince Myshkin are enchanters, or would-be enchanters, in their own right;

  Academic text (2003)

• The whole exercise was no doubt meant to send a strong message to would-be extortionists.

  Academic text (1993)

• The change in American fuel standards has tilted the playing field for would-be exporters.

  Academic text (2004)

• Which leads me to my would-be son-in-law, Melvin, who's very charming in a Rain Man kind of way.

  The Big Hit (1998)

• Why do you think I devote myself to hunting down little would-be Fausts like Alex Lustig?

  Fiction book (1990)

• Many would-be musicians struggle to get noticed in the competitive industry.

• The conference was full of would-be entrepreneurs eager to pitch their ideas.

• After trying for years, he finally gave up on becoming a would-be author.

Synonyms

A

ambitious

vswould-be

131 3.7

Wanting very much to succeed and willing to work hard

is more about desire without implying persistent effort or success

A

aspiring

vswould-be

63 3.5

Wanting to become successful in a particular job or activity

is similar but focuses on wanting a role often without achieving it

A

aspirational

vswould-be

12 5.3

Wanting to be more successful, often shown by luxury brands or lifestyles

is about personally wanting to be a certain type but often unfulfilled

M

manqué

vswould-be

• Literature

1 9.9

A person who failed to become what they hoped to be

is about wanting to be a type of person often without success

Antonyms

A

actual

∞ 1.4

Real and existing in fact, not imagined or expected

F

fulfilled

36 3.4

Having completed a plan or goal to a high standard

How Ambitious

driven

176 3.5

ambitious

131 3.7

aspiring

63 3.5

would-be

85 5.6

unambitious

2 4.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology