as in inexperienced
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Recent Examples of would-be
Those nodules have tempted would-be miners for decades.
—
Daniel Ackerman, NPR, 27 Mar. 2025
Industry analysts say the tax will surely raise car prices in the U.S. and squeeze some would-be car buyers out of the market.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2025
Susan had found Teresa and neutralized the redhead’s would-be rapist/gun runner with a bullet to his frank-and-beans, while Villanueva nearly met his match in one of the gun-running goons.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 27 Mar. 2025
Chloé Zhao followed up the gorgeous Nomadland (2020) with the would-be superhero franchise starter, Eternals (2021).
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for would-be
Daniel Ackerman, NPR, 27 Mar. 2025
Industry analysts say the tax will surely raise car prices in the U.S. and squeeze some would-be car buyers out of the market.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2025
Susan had found Teresa and neutralized the redhead’s would-be rapist/gun runner with a bullet to his frank-and-beans, while Villanueva nearly met his match in one of the gun-running goons.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 27 Mar. 2025
Chloé Zhao followed up the gorgeous Nomadland (2020) with the would-be superhero franchise starter, Eternals (2021).
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for would-be
Recent Examples of Synonyms for would-be
Adjective
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First discovered: 4 hours ago, 12:37 p.m. April 18 Initial location: San Mateo County, Calif. Fire type: Wildfire Fire name: Hill Ic A new wildfire was reported today at 12:37 p.m. in San Mateo County.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
19 Apr. 2025
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Season 5 to explore new relationship, show creator says While some may still be rooting for Emily to patch things up with Gabriel, the focus of this upcoming season will be Emily's relationship with Marcello, Star told Tudum.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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One of City’s greatest financial successes has been their ability to generate vast sums for largely untried young players.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
The Athletic,
19 Mar. 2025
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Within days, he was appointed as the new, young, untried head coach (and now manager) of former club Arsenal with his work ethic, his ambitions and his non-negotiables.—
Amy Lawrence,
The Athletic,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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No one wants to risk having to choke down an unseasoned side dish, or wish that your aunt had made the green bean casserole like usual.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
27 Mar. 2025
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While dogs can eat some human foods, like unseasoned pasta, as shown in the clip, some of our staples can be extremely toxic to them.—
Jonathan Granoff,
Newsweek,
29 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Well, the beginning days of spring can be cold, too.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
People.com,
8 Mar. 2025
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Some of the efforts being eyed by hardline Republicans are focused on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) workers, which DOGE — the brainchild of billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk — has sought to dismantle since the beginning days of the Trump administration.—
Mychael Schnell,
The Hill,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Related Stories Whoever says this is unskilled work is either ignorant or lying.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
4 Apr. 2025
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Photo: Focus Features/Everett Collection A Coen brothers riff on the spy genre, Burn After Reading is filled with self-mythologizing drunks, unskilled opportunists, and borderline morons.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Trump appears to hold a maximalist view of his powers even if they are disputed or untested.—
Michael S. Schmidt,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
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Obviously, the first two players are entrenched MLB stars, the third is an untested rookie thrust into action by the injury to Murphy.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Currently, a pastel purple bag is listed on eBay for $1,600, a pastel blue tote is priced at $1,400, a pastel green bag is going for $1,100, while one pastel pink tote was listed for $999.99.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Secondhand clothing is a green alternative to buying new, particularly with fast fashion’s reputation for meh quality and poor working conditions.—
Amy Tara Koch,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Sephora automatically awards you the entry-level membership Insider status, which earns you one point back on all Sephora purchases.—
Nora Colomer,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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The entry-level model has 128GB storage and comes in four colors, of which three are discounted in this storage level.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Would-be.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/would-be. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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