as in inexperienced
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Recent Examples of would-be
If successful, Deep’s small-house-sized sentinel units will let scientists and other would-be oceanic explorers live below the surface for longer periods of time and with some greater semblance of normalcy.
—
Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 5 Feb. 2025
The league attempted to have a digital system help with ball placement, considering many were upset during a would-be first down attempt for the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
But Georgia’s would-be autocrats appear to be undaunted.
—Anthony Borden, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2025
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new rules that would require poultry companies to disclose more information to would-be farmers — a change that is designed to help farmers better assess the risks.
—Ames Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for would-be 
Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 5 Feb. 2025
The league attempted to have a digital system help with ball placement, considering many were upset during a would-be first down attempt for the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
But Georgia’s would-be autocrats appear to be undaunted.
—Anthony Borden, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2025
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed new rules that would require poultry companies to disclose more information to would-be farmers — a change that is designed to help farmers better assess the risks.
—Ames Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for would-be
Recent Examples of Synonyms for would-be
Adjective
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The video discussion started with benchmarks, details about xAI's new data center and the desire to create a chatbot that didn't need to be politically correct.—
Ina Fried,
Axios,
18 Feb. 2025
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The dismissals come less than three weeks after a midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter killed 67 people and brought new scrutiny to air traffic controllers and their workloads.—
Joey Garrison,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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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
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At the time, states that still practiced the death penalty struggled as their lethal drug suppliers, not wanting to be associated with executions, cut ties and corrections offices experimented with untried methods.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
26 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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While the German shepherd is politely holding back, his opponent can't wait to tuck in, to the point that his owner has to physically stop him from grabbing the unseasoned spaghetti before the contest even started.—
Jonathan Granoff,
Newsweek,
29 Jan. 2025
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Other human foods that cats can eat unseasoned and without bones are salmon, chicken, turkey, beef, organ meat, shrimp, lamb, pork and canned tuna in spring water only.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In this case, the planetesimal that was the beginning stage of Earth didn’t drop its MVEs at the start of its development.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
5 Feb. 2025
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One source said that at the beginning Trump was reluctant to hold the meeting, but eventually agreed.—
Barak Ravid,
Axios,
7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Consecutive droughts in recent years have devastated livestock populations, forcing hundreds of thousands of herders to give up their traditional lifestyles and move, as unskilled workers, to sprawling towns.—
Mohamed Adow,
Foreign Affairs,
13 Apr. 2020
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Gamers have also scrutinized Musk for his odd gameplay and game setting choices that can be indicative of an unskilled player.—
Antonio Pequeño IV,
Forbes,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This suit used the same Iowa law to argue that the poll had deliberately misled The Register’s paying subscribers. Suhr of the Center for American Rights described state consumer protection laws as a promising if largely untested vehicle for pursuing media outlets.—
New York Times,
The Mercury News,
9 Feb. 2025
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In contrast, raw water remains untested, unregulated and untreated, leaving its safety to drink in question.—
Bill Sullivan,
The Conversation,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Red is for load, black is for line, white is for neutral, green is for ground, and blue is for connecting to another switch in a three-way configuration.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
19 Feb. 2025
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Yellow is the easiest, while purple is the hardest, and green and blue are of medium difficulty.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The more capable and also free Google Photos thus remains our Editors' Choice winner for entry-level photo editing apps.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
9 Feb. 2025
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The Dolphins flew Johnson to Miami for an interview and hired him as a quality control assistant, the lowest entry-level position in the league, before promoting him to assistant quarterbacks coach the next year.—
Brad Biggs,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near would-be
Cite this Entry
“Would-be.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/would-be. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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