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

Landscapes, the world around her, as if to create a new one, to search for beauty, in a family that never left the country during the war. — Time, Time, 1 July 2026

In an industry that often rewards volume, there’s something quietly magnetic about an artist who lets the music speak first, carrying himself as if no one is asking him to perform anything at all. — Desjah Altvater, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Inside, Boxing the Compass, a nautical term for changing direction and reversing course, sounds as if 44 years never passed since Haircut 100 first made their rounds with a spectrum of pop, soul, funk, and jazz. — Tina Eves, SPIN, 1 July 2026

Contreras made a gesture as if to challenge the umpire’s call — and he was promptly thrown out of the game. — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 30 June 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