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

Paired with a prominent pink lip and punctuating updo, the glam appeared as if it were plucked from an early 2000s look book. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026

The hot and dusty city streets were bathed in decorative green light to celebrate National Day, as hundreds of electronic billboards projected the sword and script of the Saudi flag, shown fluttering as if caught in a breeze. — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026

Vargo’s recent party switch and her clashing political mailers — some reading as if made for Democrats and others for Republican voters — prompted the local Democratic party to back her opponent, Patricia Rumph, a lifelong Democrat. — Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026

Ema’s many long walks through the neighborhood are eerie — the screams echo as if from everywhere and nowhere — but there’s a stark beauty lurking behind the death and decay, as if life could come rushing back if enough people wanted to see it. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 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