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

• 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

Far from thinning out, the crowds grew denser as the hours passed, borne toward the Piazza Maggiore, the main square of the city’s historic center, as if on a tide. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025

Standout details include flowing scarf and tie elements, styled to appear as if caught in motion, a subtle but striking design choice that adds movement and attitude. —Essence, 22 Sep. 2025

The fluid movement appears as if the robot is flaunting its wide range of motion, moving in various directions. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2025

On the second interception, Simmons said Delaware bluffed as if an all-out blitz was coming before falling back into coverage and making the pick. —Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 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