wannabe
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Written form of a reduction of want to be. Wannabe can be considered a conversion, category change, or functional shift.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
wannabe (plural wannabes)
- (informal, derogatory, often attributive) Someone who wishes to be or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant.
- Hollywood's restaurants are full of wannabe actors waiting to be discovered.
- (informal, derogatory) Someone who wishes to be part of, or to assimilate to, a majority group of which they are not a member.
- 2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 126:
- Bigger, mongrelly and black, he was clearly a Doberman wannabe.
Synonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
someone who wishes something but lacks the qualifications