wannabe
Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talentSomeone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant.
» The wannabe dictator poses an existential threat to democracy.
Meaning
2 senses(attributive, derogatory, informal, often)Someone who wishes to be someone 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.
Möchtegern
(derogatory, informal)Someone who wishes to be part of, or to assimilate to, a majority group of which they are not a member.
- an ambitious and aspiring young person
Examples
11 sentencesThe wannabe dictator poses an existential threat to democracy.
Really intelligent students - and not wannabes like me - also had a hard time.
deAuch die richtig intelligenten Studenten hatten es schwer, nicht nur Möchtegerns wie ich.
On today's maps, there are plenty of wannabe countries that are struggling for recognition.
She's a wannabe actress.
deSie ist eine Möchtegernschauspielerin.
Tankies are wannabe cops.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
Written form of a reduction of want to be, analyzable as wanna + be. Wannabe can be considWritten form of a reduction of want to be, analyzable as wanna + be. Wannabe can be considered a conversion, category change, or functional shift. While occasionally appearing in print, usually as a less reduced phrase, the popularity of the word took off in the mid-1980s following the Madonna wannabe fashion trend: “wannabe”, in Google Books Ngram Viewer.
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