might-have-been

noun

ˈmītə(v)ˌbin,

-ītə-

plural might-have-beens

1

: something that might have happened

who can calculate the might-have-beens

—W. M. Thackeray

reconstructs the might-have-beens of English and French elections

—H. C. Mansfield

2

: a person who might have amounted to something or to more

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