would-be

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwʊd biː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

would-be (not comparable)

1. Attempting or desiring something.

   Would-be marines have to get through a rigorous examination.

   • 1951 February, “Notes and News: Lynton & Barnstaple Remains”, in Railway Magazine, page 136:

     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.

   • 2019 May 9, Edward Helmore, “Anna Sorokin: fake German heiress sentenced to up to 12 years in prison”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     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.

2. Unfulfilled; frustrated in realizing a goal, ambition, etc.

   Would-be film stars often become waitresses.

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), page 27:

     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.

   • 1945 Sept, Richard S. Shaver, Science Fiction Adventure Classics, published 1972, page 26, column 1:

     [T]he envy of all the would-be beautiful of the Nor empire.

   • 2024 July 21, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Maggie Haberman, “Secret Service Says It Denied Earlier Trump Requests for More Federal Resources”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     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.

Coordinate terms

• wannabe
• might-be

Derived terms

• would-be bride

Translations

attempting or desiring something

• Basque: sasi-
• Bulgarian: претендиращ (bg) (pretendirašt)
• French: pseudo- (fr), en puissance (fr)
• German: möchtegern, pseudo- (de)
• Hungarian: leendő (hu), jövendőbeli (hu)
• Polish: aspirujący
• Russian: мечтающий (ru) (mečtajuščij), претендующий (ru) (pretendujuščij)

unfulfilled or frustrated in realizing an ambition

• Bulgarian: неуспял (bg) (neuspjal)
• French: soi-disant (fr)
• Polish: niedoszły (pl)
• Russian: несостоявшийся (ru) (nesostojavšijsja)

Noun

would-be (plural would-bes)

1. One who aspires to something.

   Synonym: wannabe

   • 1912, Elbert Hubbard, Hollyhocks and Goldenglow:

     The would-bes are very sure that the managers have it in for them; just as most young writers regard publishers as being in conspiracy against budding genius.

2. (India) One's fiancé or fiancée.