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

Their voices lock together seamlessly with notes soaring and settling softly in the same breath, as if Christmas spirit itself asked for a sound check. —Bryan West, USA Today, 1 Dec. 2025

One encounters echoes of this legendary order in Siesbye’s bowls, as if the works present modern retellings of an ancient epic, embodying deep time and the present moment, directness and enigma alike. —Ayşegül Savaş, New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2025

Made from a block of clear quartz, the egg looks as if it has been carved from ice and dusted with frost. —Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025

The illness, as yet undiagnosed, made her vomit sharply, as if throwing up bullets. —Luis Pascal, Miami Herald, 28 Nov. 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