wannabe

American  

[won-uh-bee, waw-nuh‑] / ˈwɒn əˌbi, ˈwɔ nə‑ /

Sometimes wannabee

noun

Informal.

plural

wannabes

1. one who aspires, often vainly, to emulate another's success or attain eminence in some area.

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wannabe British  

/ ˈwɒnəˌbiː /

noun

1. informal

   1. a person who desires to be, or be like, someone or something else

      a group of Marilyn Monroe wannabes

   2. ( as modifier )

      a wannabe film star

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Etymology

Origin of wannabe

First recorded in 1980–85; derivative of (I) wanna be…

Example Sentences

Unless an unexpected candidate decides to take the plunge, and goodness knows what could happen these days, a change at the top doesn't seem likely to be prompted by the wannabe contenders.

From BBC

I was a young wannabe filmmaker trying to learn how to make movies, and somebody like me was up there onstage telling a story about how he got there.

From Los Angeles Times

“Well,” said Zeke, who felt like this was an awful lot of pressure on one measly apology to a lying, bullying, wannabe supervillain, “I guess so.”

From Literature

Like so many of us, Good could have stayed tucked safely away in her house, looking the other way while a bunch of hastily hired wannabe warriors terrorized her neighbors.

From Salon

In Hollywood, there’s an old joke among wannabe actors scraping by doing odd jobs between auditions: “Well, right now I’m parking cars, but what I really want to do is direct!”

From Salon

Related Words

• budding
• enterprising
• potential
• prospective