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

• as
• as though
• 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 fact that Dolly was apparently so faithful for so long will seem to some as strange as if Bacchus turned out to be a stay-at-home dad. —Casey Cep, New Yorker, 15 May 2025

Stereo equipment had been stacked near the stairway, as if thieves had been interrupted in their work. —Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025

Moreover, as if to put icing on the cake, Congress in 1940 passed a statute codifying birthright citizenship for any child born in the U.S. President Trump, however, has long maintained that the Constitution does not guarantee birthright citizenship. —Nina Totenberg, NPR, 15 May 2025

Tatum’s injury is a reminder, as if anyone needed one, that professional athletes are always one play away from having their lives and careers forever changed. —Steve Buckley, New York Times, 14 May 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