variants
also wannabee
as in follower
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 wannabe
But the reality is that many of the elections were fake and that the world runneth over with dictators, authoritarians and their wannabes.
—
Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
The proceedings were more of a scrimmage on steroids than an actual game with the intent of giving incumbents, wannabes, and newbies the chance to make plays and get noticed by the new coaching staff.
—Rich Thompson, Boston Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
Call it a banana republic run by dictator wannabes.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
The Franchise could have an exercise in spot-the-Kevin-Feige for industry wannabes.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
The proceedings were more of a scrimmage on steroids than an actual game with the intent of giving incumbents, wannabes, and newbies the chance to make plays and get noticed by the new coaching staff.
—Rich Thompson, Boston Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
Call it a banana republic run by dictator wannabes.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
The Franchise could have an exercise in spot-the-Kevin-Feige for industry wannabes.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for wannabe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wannabe
Noun
-
In Instagram comments, Wales Bonner invited followers to sign up for the newsletter on walesbonner.com for further updates.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
5 July 2025
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The actress, who is on vacation in Sardinia, has delighted her 571K followers on Instagram by proudly displaying her collection of bikinis while beating the heat with pals.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
5 July 2025
Noun
-
The internet has gone wild for a pet parrot determined to make a visiting neighborhood cat his best pal.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
-
Just ask Microsoft, whose 2016 chatbot Tay, attracting users with nefarious objectives, quickly descended into a racist, misogynistic parrot.—
Robert C. Wolcott,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wannabe. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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