Green’s Dictionary of Slang

wannabe adj.

aspirant.

1985		J. Wambaugh Secrets of Harry Bright (1986) 135: We have lots of wanna-be cowboys driving around in Datsun pick-ups.
1995		(con. 1985–90) P. Bourjois In Search of Respect 75: This technological and marketing breakthrough [...] unleashed the energy of thousands of wanna-be mom-and-pop entrepreneurs.
2000		N. Barlay Crumple Zone 22: The wannabe gangsta rap stars, and all the trash always carried in their slipstream.
2006		G. Pelecanos Night Gardener 89: A story about a wannabe player he had taken to the Tyson-McBride fight.
2010		A. Steinberg Running the Books 229: Every wannabe rapper in here wishes he had Shakespeare’s skills.
2010		L. Redhead Thrill City [ebook] A few uni student types [...] probably wannabe writers.
2016		A. Wheatle Crongton Knights 3: A-class chicks rolled by [...] wannabe players had to smile away their put-downs.
2017		D. Winslow The Force [ebook] The fifteen-year-old wannabe dope slinger .
2020		S.A. Crosby Blacktop Wasteland 100: A wannabe gangsta playing with a grown man’s gun.