quasi

1 of 2

adjective

qua·​si ˈkwā-ˌzī 

-ˌsī;

ˈkwä-zē 

-sē

1

: having some resemblance usually by possession of certain attributes

a quasi corporation

2

: having a legal status only by operation or construction of law and without reference to intent

a quasi contract

quasi-

2 of 2

combining form

1

: in some sense or degree

quasiperiodic

quasi-judicial

2

: resembling in some degree

quasiparticle

Examples of quasi in a Sentence

Adjective

And as more people adopt these teachings as quasi religions, some adherents say their belief systems are no less valid than those based on that older collection of maxims, the Ten Commandments. —Daniel McGinn, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2000

But also, bachelors, more than married people, blended the two spheres by making their public, non-familial peer group and other associations into quasi families and by carrying on their personal affairs in mostly public or semipublic places such as boardinghouses, saloons, the streets, clubhouses, and the like. —Howard P. Chudacoff, The Age of the Bachelor, 1999

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Many of those newfound objects were incredibly far away and therefore extremely luminous, but looked so much like stars that they were dubbed quasi-stellar radio sources, or quasars for short. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2025

Her first movie as director, 1987’s Heaven, is a quasi-experimental work made up of old movie clips, newsreel and documentary snippets, and ruminations on eternity by a couple dozen interviewees, including her mother Dorothy and her sister Dorrie. —Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2025

This doesn’t just happen for balls rolling down hills, but for rain that pools into puddles, ponds, and lakes, for molecules that fold into a particular configuration, and even for electrons that cascade down into a stable or quasi-stable energy state. —Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 8 Oct. 2025

Moral thought—as Katie Ebner-Landy nicely shows in her new book—once put great weight on quasi-novelistic character sketches, in the tradition of Theophrastus. —Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

quasi-

Combining form

Latin quasi as if, as it were, approximately, from quam as + si if — more at quantity, so

First Known Use

Adjective

1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing quasi

• quasi-governmental
• quasi-judicial
• quasi-legislative
• quasi-public
• quasi-stellar object

Rhymes for quasi

• aussie
• basi
• bossy
• fossae
• glossy
• khasi
• lossy
• masi
• mossy
• posse
• saucy
• bagasse

Kids Definition

quasi-

combining form

qua·​si-

ˈkwā-ˌzī,

-ˌsī;

ˈkwäz-ē,

ˈkwäs-

: in some sense or degree

quasi-historical

quasi-officially

Etymology

Combining form

from Latin quasi "as if"

Legal Definition

quasi

1 of 2 adjective

qua·​si ˈkwā-ˌzī, -ˌsī; ˈkwä-zē, -sē 

: having such a resemblance to another thing as to fall within its general category

a quasi corporation

quasi

2 of 2 adverb

: in some significant sense or degree

—often used in combination

quasi-fiscal

see also quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative

Etymology

Adjective

Latin, as if, as it were, from quam as + si if