will-ben.adj.
/ˈwɪlbiː/, U.S. /ˈwɪlˌbi/ rare.
A. n.
A person or thing that will exist but does not yet; a person whose career, effectiveness, etc., belongs to the future. Cf. has-been n. and adj., have-been n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [noun] > one who will be but is not yet
will-be1747
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. xxxiv. 230 I have look'd backward to the have-been's, and forward to the will-be's.
1978 R. Tiffen News from Southeast Asia iii. 41 I meet and talk with the people who are shaping events—emperors, kings, premiers, foreign ministers.., has-beens and will-bes, bankers and traders, airline pilots, and camel drivers.
1992 N. Stephenson Snow Crash viii. 61 Most of the people Hiro knows are will-bes or wannabes.
B. adj.
That will be (the person or thing designated); that aims at being, or is ready to be (someone or something). Cf. would-be adj. and n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adjective]
future1631
will-be1802
futural1953
futuristic1958
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adjective] > future or that is to come
towardc888
tocomingOE
futurec1374
unborn1598
to-be1609
unbred1609
hereaftera1616
succeeding1676
uprising1727
unarrived1745
will-be1802
unelapsed1805
unforegone1844
upcoming1879
1802 Sporting Mag. Jan. 226/2 Our will-be Squires.
1900 T. R. Williams Greenfield Pulpit No. 72 (title of sermon) Jesus and will-be disciples; Luke ix. 57–62.
2019 @khawkins98 9 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 9 Mar. 2019) First transatlantic flights booked with a will-be 18 month old.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.adj.1747