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

Tree limbs whispered in the night wind as if urging them on. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 10 Nov. 2024

The county suggested two possible solutions: proceeding with the election and seating the winners as if the consent decree had been followed or disregarding the results of the November election and holding a special election for the two seats in March. —Madeleine Parrish, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024

The auto industry's struggles over these years led to high crime, municipal financial emergencies, and, as if things couldn't get worse, lead contaminated the city's water. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

In 1846, scientists had observed irregularities in Uranus’ orbit, as if an invisible counterweight were tugging on the planet from the far side. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Nov. 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