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

On the album’s title track, the vocals purr with digital texture as an off-kilter guitar melody spirals upwards, as if bubbling up from the bottom of a pool. — Cameron Cook, Pitchfork, 13 Nov. 2026

One of the pipeline operator CEOs wrote Abbott a $1 million check at the end of that winter storm, almost as if to say thank you for not prosecuting them. — Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 12 Nov. 2026

While the scene is shot as if Jessie and Lux are very close to the edge of the building, the actors were not. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 11 Nov. 2026

Isabelle's father used to say it in his native French, smiling, as if the sentiment exposed a delightful quirk. — CBS News, 10 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