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

The drums are constantly switching, the gait galloping one way and then swerving back again, as if the music could go anywhere. — Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026

Then, as if all of that wasn't enough, Sens fans started raining down their old Tkachuk jerseys. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

For a time last year, Kalshi and Polymarket postured as if international success would come easily. — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Often the Bulls fell into a flat-footed stance in the half-court offense, looking around as if waiting for an instruction that never came. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 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