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

Toward the end, the tropical bolero suddenly morphs into a lilting bossa nova segment — almost as if the record itself chose to embrace the power of beauty over chaos and satire. — Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2026

Anir has remained glued to the door, his left hand gripping the handle as if clinging to something solid might keep him from faltering. — Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2026

For example, a homeowner with a house assessed at $500,000 could eventually have taxes calculated as if the home were worth $250,000 for those local taxes. — Sergio Candido, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026

Even by Los Angeles standards, the weather on Sunday, July 9, 2023, was almost impossibly perfect—sunshine, low 70s, and a cool breeze—as if Hollywood itself has been dropped into the fantasy world of Barbie Land. — Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 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