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

That’s because automakers have been operating for decades as if North America is a single market, moving parts repeatedly across the US borders with Canada and Mexico with few if any tariffs. —Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 3 May 2025

Adding to the confusion is the fact that Del Rio is, in reality, a singer: in fact, she’s billed under her own name, as if the performance were taking place in real-world Los Angeles. —Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 3 May 2025

Before the call even came, a dolphin kept coming up to me, as if to say goodbye. —Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 2 May 2025

The next Yankee batter after Cody Bellinger belted the fourth homer was second baseman Jazz Chisolm Jr., who fouled off the first pitch, took another one, then stepped out of the box in obvious discomfort, twisting from side to side as if to loosen his muscles. —Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for as if

• biff
• cliff
• diff
• glyph
• griff
• riff
• schiff
• skiff
• sniff
• stiff
• tiff
• whiff

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