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

Synonyms

• as
• as though
• like

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

In fact, Kenney, standing erect and unflappable, made everything, old and new, sound much the same, as if conjuring a kind of musical talisman against ground that too easily shifts. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2024

The property values are going to decline, people have no future' — as if a neighborhood was best served by having activities 80 days a year and 260 days a year having the entire area shut down. —Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 11 June 2024

The 110-seat restaurant, like the lobby, looks as if carved out of a large aspen tree trunk with earthy tones and distressed wood slats lining the ceiling. —Lily O'Neill, The Denver Post, 11 June 2024

Fresh aromas from the olive trees waft into each space, almost as if on purpose. —Jessica Vadillo, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 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, 11 June 2024

The words fumbled out of my mouth without pause, as if stopping would halt my momentum and propel me back into the closet. —Jennifer Thuy Vi Nguyen, Longreads, 11 June 2024

One elderly attendee held his hand up, as if to ward C.J. off. —Jenavieve Hatch, Sacramento Bee, 9 June 2024

In constructing a supply chain governed by the relentless pursuit of efficiency, trucking and railroad businesses treated their workers as if their own time was both limitless and without value, deserving of no compensation for hours stuck waiting for the next load. —Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 2 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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