wannabe

English

Alternative forms

wanna-be, want-to-be

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.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈwɒnəbi/
Audio (AU) (file)

Noun

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.
- 2012, BioWare, quoting Sho D'hen, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, OCLC 962368035, 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.
(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

tryhard

Coordinate terms

bootlicker
poseur
sellout
suckup

Derived terms

wannabeism

Translations

someone who wishes something but lacks the qualifications

Czech: rádoby (cs)
Dutch: wannabe (nl) m
Finnish: matkija (fi)
French: wannabe (fr) m
German: Möchtegern (de) m
Hungarian: önjelölt
Japanese: ワナビー (wanabī), ワナビ (wanabi), もどき (ja) (modoki)
Norwegian: wannabe m
Spanish: un quiero y no puedo, aspirante
Swedish: wannabe (sv) c
Turkish: özenti (tr)