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 trueCharles DickensA simple collection of songs? As if. How about a conceptual ode to London's millennia-old history?—Craig McLean
Craig McLeanBig 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
Nicholas FonsecaExamples 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
Some possible trust income tax benefits may include: A trust can elect to treat a distribution made during the first 65 days of the following year as if actually made during the prior year.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Finding my grandfather in the census was as if someone had woken me up and handed me the dream child’s birth certificate.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
The catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe, which rose to more than 35 feet in some places, pushed homes off their foundations and obliterated campsites and RV parks as if by dynamite.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 July 2025
Agents wanted to be seen, photographed, and recorded so that everyone knows the government claims unlimited force over immigrants, as if car washers and day laborers were an existential threat.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 13 July 2025
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Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Finding my grandfather in the census was as if someone had woken me up and handed me the dream child’s birth certificate.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
The catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe, which rose to more than 35 feet in some places, pushed homes off their foundations and obliterated campsites and RV parks as if by dynamite.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 July 2025
Agents wanted to be seen, photographed, and recorded so that everyone knows the government claims unlimited force over immigrants, as if car washers and day laborers were an existential threat.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 13 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for as if
Cite this Entry
“As if.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20if. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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