as if

conjunction

1
: as it would be if
It was as if he had lost his last friend.
2
: as one would do if
He ran as if ghosts were chasing him.
3
: that
It seemed as if the day would never end.
4
used to say that something is not true, not possible, will not happen, etc.
"I am sure I am very affectionate," said Dora; "you oughtn't to be cruel to me, Doady!" "Cruel, my precious love! As if I would—or could—be cruel to you, for the world!"Charles Dickens
sometimes used informally as an interjection to say that something suggested or claimed is impossible, incorrect, or ridiculously unlikely to be true
A simple collection of songs? As if. How about a conceptual ode to London's millennia-old history?Craig McLean
Big budgets? High-priced actresses? As if! The film cost a modest $13 million, a figure achieved by not casting stars, but rather stars-in-the-making …Nicholas Fonseca

Examples of as if in a Sentence

she looked as if she wanted to ask one more question before we left
Recent Examples on the Web Instead, in the show, which opened on Thursday at the Park Avenue Armory, Stevens’s wistful and sometimes enigmatic numbers, set in various Illinois locations, are performed by three vocalists on platforms high above the action, wearing butterfly wings as if to stay aloft. Jesse Green, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 She and her family are welcomed by the queen, Isabelle (Robin Wright, gorgeously cloaked in robes, power and snobbery), and her fiancé, Prince Henry (Nick Robinson), who looks oddly sheepish, as if he’d been caught in a lie on his Royal Match profile. Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024 My teacher wheeled the TV out of the room and began our math lesson as if all was fine. Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 7 Mar. 2024 Hal chases after me on his bike, one leg dangling off of it, as if his ankle is pumping a fist in the air in the same way his arm is. Devin Kelly, Longreads, 7 Mar. 2024 Happily in love while hanging fans out to dry, as if nothing happened. Jessie Yeung, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 The sparse interiors are shot intimately as if an unseen character is watching. Callum McLennan, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 Nicholas Putz, a frequent customer who has lived in Elm Grove for 12 years, said the business was open last week as if there were no issues. Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 Video footage shows Roth taking out his phone and holding it as if recording. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'as if.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of as if was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near as if

Cite this Entry

“As if.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20if. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

as if

conjunction
1
: the way it would be if
it was as if we had never left
2
: the way one would do if
they acted as if they'd never heard of us
3
: that entry 2 sense 1a
it seemed as if the day would never end
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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