What does would-be mean?
Would-be means Attempting or desiring something..
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/ˈwʊd biː/ · adjective
Attempting or desiring something..
Would-be marines have to get through a rigorous examination.
As Tarzan’s heavy hand fell upon his shoulder the priest dropped his victim, and turned upon her would-be rescuer.
Pilton Yard, the Lynton & Barnstaple headquarters, has been taken over by a fur trading firm, and would-be trespassers to the old engine-shed are turned back by the pungent odour of heaps of carcases.
Sorokin, a would-be art collector, planned to open a members-only arts club but became known as the “Soho grifter” after her deception upon New York’s glitzy social scene came to light.
Would-be film stars often become waitresses.
It was not till the rays of the sun had absorbed the young stranger's retreating figure on the hill that she shook off her temporary sadness and answered her would-be partner in the affirmative.
[T]he envy of all the would-be beautiful of the Nor empire.
The Secret Service had already been barraged with questions over why it had excluded from its security zone the warehouse — about 450 feet from the former president — from which the would-be assassin had fired at Mr. Trump on July 13.
Use would-be when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Would-be means Attempting or desiring something..
Common synonyms include wannabe, aspirant, aspiring, manque.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
Would-be marines have to get through a rigorous examination.
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