01 a. Desiring or professing to be; vainly pretending to be; as, a would-be poet.
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1.
Desiring or professing to be; vainly pretending to be; as, a would-be poet<-- wannabe-->.
Entry
1 sense
Webster, 1913
Would-be
· Would·-be
· IPA /ˈwʊd biː/