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 of as if

• 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

The figures – dressed in flak jackets emblazoned with the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are depicted approaching the Holy Family and the Wise Men with handcuffs, as if preparing to make an arrest. —Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 15 Dec. 2025

The Melania meme showed a closeup of her face with her hands clasped in front, as if in ebullient prayer. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025

Our childhood home was quiet at night, sitting on a cul-de-sac encircled by a meeting of trees whose heads bowed toward the center as if in prayer. —Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025

Interestingly — presumably because Liverpool’s campaign ended in agony for Gerrard — the phrase is now generally used after defeat, as if to encourage some level of, well, bouncebackability. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Dec. 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