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

Your body reacts as if the worst-case scenario is already unfolding, triggering panic, frustration and helplessness. —Bronwen Sciortino, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025

Two blocks away, people drank at a bar, seemingly as if nothing happened. —Eric Tucker, Jim Mustian, TIME, 2 Jan. 2025

Leila, on the other hand, was still as livid at the family’s decision as if it had been made mere moments ago in an adjacent room. —Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025

These two songs have an underground feel, as if the songs don’t want to be discovered by the masses. —Billboard Japan, Billboard, 1 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