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

• 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

Rufus Jones, the British actor known for roles in Rivals and W1A, said the posters looked as if Bond was making an offensive gesture. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2025

At one end of the terrace, a sleek glass-and-brass elevator car emerges from two trap doors inside a discreet glass vestibule, popping up as if out of thin air. —Katherine McGrath, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2025

The market still trades as if the pros don’t feel exposed enough to stocks, and strategists have had to pursue the index higher after the springtime confidence crash reversed faster than expected. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025

In response, Clarkson burst into laughter and threw her hands in the air, as if she were absolved of her grief. —Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 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