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wannabe. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
wannabe, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
wannabe in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Written form of a reduction of want to be, analysable 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 at Google Ngram Viewer.
Pronunciation
Noun
wannabe (plural wannabes)
- (informal, derogatory, often attributive) 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.
2012, BioWare, quoting Sho D'hen, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Mars:Who the hell is that woman messing in my files? GET HER OUT OF HERE! I won't have my system messed up by some wannabe "expert" who'll be gone next week! Damn strangers who think they know it all but don't care about what we're really trying to achieve here.
2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 251:He had the reputation of a wannabe hardman, riding his cousin's coattails.
- (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
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Translations
someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications
See also