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

When Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson did a short motion outside, Durant followed, as if in man-to-man coverage, to disguise the real play call. —Adam Grosbard, Orange County Register, 15 Jan. 2025

Hanging throughout are paintings and strange sculptures of blobby, organic masses, made from clay cast in bronze, with hands and feet jutting out as if in protest. —John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 15 Jan. 2025

Chair pose: Squat as if sitting in a chair with a block between thighs. —Amy Kwan, Verywell Health, 14 Jan. 2025

Her mother jumped back, as if the SUV would suddenly run her over. —Nnedi Okorafor, WIRED, 14 Jan. 2025

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