would-be

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of would-be Austin’s housing supply has jumped back to pre-pandemic levels, easing pressure on would-be buyers who’ve been stuck in a ruthless market. Maryam Ahmed, Austin American Statesman, 11 July 2025 But with mortgage rates and home prices remaining elevated over the past several years, that’s blocked many would-be homeowners from breaking into the housing market. Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 July 2025 Tatis had leaped to bring back a would-be home run by Arizona’s Josh Naylor two nights earlier. Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025 Simply pull the pin, and the device will emit a blaring siren sound in combination with a strobe light that will draw attention to your situation and scare away would-be threats. Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 10 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for would-be
Recent Examples of Synonyms for would-be
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
Adjective
  • Better yet, take the train north to Fort Tryon Park, and study untried ones.
    Walker Mimms, New York Times, 15 May 2025
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Two thirds of them were unskilled working-class men.
    Christopher R. Browning, The New York Review of Books, 27 Mar. 2025
  • That doesn't mean that those employees were unskilled.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • Paired with the gray-ish green color palette, sparse decor, and dark atmospherics in the Institute itself, the bleak vibes may be enough to turn some viewers off for good, especially those horror purists who tune in hoping to be terrified rather than just bummed out.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 July 2025
  • Hibiscus plants add tropical flair to summer gardens with their large, showy flowers and glossy green foliage.
    Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 July 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Would-be.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/would-be. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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