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

There seemed to be an unwarranted frenzy in the speed at which everything was played, as if music were as much a sport as an artistic pursuit. —Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026

Biff shouts at him at the show’s excruciating climax) sways between light and dark, between the road and the deadly shoulder, advancing through his last hours on earth as if through the stations of the cross. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026

This inland route, protected from sea storms and pirates, enabled travelers to journey safely up and down the coast as if on a modern interstate highway. —Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026

The excise gross-up payment gives the executive enough additional cash so that they are left as if the excise tax never hit them. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026

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