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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Often, after a judge counted down the final seconds, everyone would burst into applause, as if a plane had landed safely, and some pairs would hug. Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025 Or the opposite, suddenly words are tumbling onto a page as if someone else is conducting. Beverly Gologorsky september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025 Such subtlety may not necessarily be what readers—perhaps American readers, in particular—expect from political fiction, which can have a reputation for being didactic and heavy-handed, designed to beat readers over the head, as if anything political were made in the mode of Soviet realism. Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2025 Everything is transparent, as if made of crystal. Marta Balaga, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for as if

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of as if was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“As if.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20if. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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