quasi

1 of 2

adjective

qua·​si ˈkwā-ˌzī How to pronounce quasi (audio)
-ˌsī;
ˈkwä-zē How to pronounce quasi (audio)
-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
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.
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 See All Example Sentences for quasi

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of quasi was in 1632

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Quasi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quasi. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

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
: 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

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