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/ˈwɒnəbi/ · noun
(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.
Most of the people Hiro knows are will-bes or wannabes.
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.
He had the reputation of a wannabe hardman, riding his cousin's coattails.
Bigger, mongrelly and black, he was clearly a Doberman wannabe.
Use wannabe when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Wannabe means (informal, derogatory, often attributive) Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant..
Common synonyms include tryhard, aspirant, hopeful, wannabee.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
Hollywood's restaurants are full of wannabe actors waiting to be discovered.
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