See wannabe on Wiktionary
Download JSON data for wannabe meaning in All languages combined (6.6kB)
{
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "bootlicker"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "poseur"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "sellout"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "suckup"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "Madonnabe"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "wannabeism"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "want to be"
},
"expansion": "want to be",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "wanna",
"3": "be",
"notext": "1",
"type": "exocentric"
},
"expansion": "wanna + be",
"name": "compound"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Written form of a reduction of want to be, analysable as wanna + be. Wannabe can be considered a conversion, category change, or functional shift.\nWhile 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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "wannabes",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "wannabe (plural wannabes)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "gonnabe"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "has-been"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "-to-be"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "would-be"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "84 16",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "81 19",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "58 42",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English exocentric compounds",
"parents": [
"Exocentric compounds",
"Compound terms",
"Terms by etymology"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "64 36",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Hollywood's restaurants are full of wannabe actors waiting to be discovered."
},
{
"ref": "2012, BioWare, quoting Sho D'hen, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Mars",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 251",
"text": "He had the reputation of a wannabe hardman, riding his cousin's coattails.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant."
],
"id": "en-wannabe-en-noun-ZQDtgXNJ",
"links": [
[
"derogatory",
"derogatory"
],
[
"qualification",
"qualification"
],
[
"talent",
"talent"
],
[
"overeager",
"overeager"
],
[
"amateur",
"amateur"
],
[
"aspirant",
"aspirant"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(informal, derogatory, often attributive) Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant."
],
"tags": [
"attributive",
"derogatory",
"informal",
"often"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "rádoby"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "matkija"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Möchtegern"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "önjelölt"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "wanabī",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "ワナビー"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "wanabi",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "ワナビ"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "modoki",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "もどき"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "un quiero y no puedo"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "aspirante"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"_dis1": "59 41",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "özenti"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 126",
"text": "Bigger, mongrelly and black, he was clearly a Doberman wannabe.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who wishes to be part of, or to assimilate to, a majority group of which they are not a member."
],
"id": "en-wannabe-en-noun-UhtDaGXx",
"links": [
[
"derogatory",
"derogatory"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(informal, derogatory) Someone who wishes to be part of, or to assimilate to, a majority group of which they are not a member."
],
"tags": [
"derogatory",
"informal"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈwɒnəbi/"
},
{
"audio": "en-au-wannabe.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c3/En-au-wannabe.ogg/En-au-wannabe.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/En-au-wannabe.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "tryhard"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "wanna-be"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "wannabee"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "want-to-be"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Google Ngram Viewer",
"functional shift"
],
"word": "wannabe"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 3-syllable words",
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English exocentric compounds",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with audio links",
"en:People"
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"word": "bootlicker"
},
{
"word": "poseur"
},
{
"word": "sellout"
},
{
"word": "suckup"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "Madonnabe"
},
{
"word": "wannabeism"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "want to be"
},
"expansion": "want to be",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "wanna",
"3": "be",
"notext": "1",
"type": "exocentric"
},
"expansion": "wanna + be",
"name": "compound"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Written form of a reduction of want to be, analysable as wanna + be. Wannabe can be considered a conversion, category change, or functional shift.\nWhile 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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "wannabes",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "wannabe (plural wannabes)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "gonnabe"
},
{
"word": "has-been"
},
{
"word": "-to-be"
},
{
"word": "would-be"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English derogatory terms",
"English informal terms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Hollywood's restaurants are full of wannabe actors waiting to be discovered."
},
{
"ref": "2012, BioWare, quoting Sho D'hen, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Mars",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 251",
"text": "He had the reputation of a wannabe hardman, riding his cousin's coattails.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant."
],
"links": [
[
"derogatory",
"derogatory"
],
[
"qualification",
"qualification"
],
[
"talent",
"talent"
],
[
"overeager",
"overeager"
],
[
"amateur",
"amateur"
],
[
"aspirant",
"aspirant"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(informal, derogatory, often attributive) Someone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant."
],
"tags": [
"attributive",
"derogatory",
"informal",
"often"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English derogatory terms",
"English informal terms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 126",
"text": "Bigger, mongrelly and black, he was clearly a Doberman wannabe.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who wishes to be part of, or to assimilate to, a majority group of which they are not a member."
],
"links": [
[
"derogatory",
"derogatory"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(informal, derogatory) Someone who wishes to be part of, or to assimilate to, a majority group of which they are not a member."
],
"tags": [
"derogatory",
"informal"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈwɒnəbi/"
},
{
"audio": "en-au-wannabe.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c3/En-au-wannabe.ogg/En-au-wannabe.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/En-au-wannabe.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "tryhard"
},
{
"word": "wanna-be"
},
{
"word": "wannabee"
},
{
"word": "want-to-be"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "rádoby"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "matkija"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Möchtegern"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "önjelölt"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "wanabī",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "ワナビー"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "wanabi",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "ワナビ"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "modoki",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "もどき"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "un quiero y no puedo"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "aspirante"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "wannabe"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "someone who wishes to be like someone, but lacks the qualifications",
"word": "özenti"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Google Ngram Viewer",
"functional shift"
],
"word": "wannabe"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.