1
as in assumption
something taken as being true or factual and used as a starting point for a course of action or reasoning
your conclusion may turn out to be accurate, but you're postulating a lot of ifs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in condition
something upon which the carrying out of an agreement or offer depends
there are a number of ifs in the proposal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of if
But the if of the team’s health looms.
—
Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 18 Feb. 2026
The if-then paradigm needs to be simplified.
—Michael Isaacson, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
But even if the prison system reopens those beds — a big if, experts noted — Colorado will still be 230 to 440 beds short in the coming years, according to the 159-page report Brakke presented to the budget committee Friday.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 24 Dec. 2025
With that in mind, even if Cooper succeeds in winning over city leaders—a big if—the potential challenges in leveraging Champions Point’s biggest selling point may only further stymie Cooper in turning the long-unsellable property into something people will pay to visit.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 15 Dec. 2025
If Florida is out of the way due to missing Aleksander Barkov (still a big if), the Atlantic really opens up.
—Sean Gentille, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The two eventually form an intergenerational friendship that’s genuine, even if its foundation is based on a white lie, and you brace for the inevitable moment — not an if, but a when — of Eleanor getting busted.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
If the Nefes report proves true—and again that’s a big if—and Russia seeks to buy back S-400s from Turkey to keep its traditional customers onside, that could further bode ill for a delivery of Su-35s or any other advanced weapons systems to Tehran.
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
And that remains, at best, a very big if.
—Andrei Lankov, Time, 21 Aug. 2025
Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 18 Feb. 2026
The if-then paradigm needs to be simplified.
—Michael Isaacson, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
But even if the prison system reopens those beds — a big if, experts noted — Colorado will still be 230 to 440 beds short in the coming years, according to the 159-page report Brakke presented to the budget committee Friday.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 24 Dec. 2025
With that in mind, even if Cooper succeeds in winning over city leaders—a big if—the potential challenges in leveraging Champions Point’s biggest selling point may only further stymie Cooper in turning the long-unsellable property into something people will pay to visit.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 15 Dec. 2025
If Florida is out of the way due to missing Aleksander Barkov (still a big if), the Atlantic really opens up.
—Sean Gentille, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The two eventually form an intergenerational friendship that’s genuine, even if its foundation is based on a white lie, and you brace for the inevitable moment — not an if, but a when — of Eleanor getting busted.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
If the Nefes report proves true—and again that’s a big if—and Russia seeks to buy back S-400s from Turkey to keep its traditional customers onside, that could further bode ill for a delivery of Su-35s or any other advanced weapons systems to Tehran.
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
And that remains, at best, a very big if.
—Andrei Lankov, Time, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for if
Noun
-
Leaders of the Upper Basin states also are raising objections, saying the Interior Department’s current options rely on flawed assumptions, fail to impose large enough cuts on the Lower Basin and go beyond the federal government’s authority.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
-
This assumption breaks down in a world that shifts in real time.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Pretending to restore the coal zone to the employment conditions of the1950s, or even the 1980s, isn’t an honest way to go about it.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
If the cosmic inflation that occurred prior to the Big Bang arose because certain high-energy conditions were met, then recreating those conditions and those sufficiently high energies could cause a restoration of the inflationary state.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Over the past decade, scholars have increasingly mapped postcolonial theory onto post-Soviet contexts, treating Russian imperial expansion as analogous to Western colonialism.—
Anel Rakhimzhanova,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
-
This is not an abstract theory.—
Ajaypal Banga,
Twin Cities,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The hemp industry went into a tailspin when Congress approved a provision sandwiched in a November funding bill to end the government shutdown.—
Gina Lee Castro,
jsonline.com,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Presidents have routinely violated this provision, but there’s no time like the present to begin following the nation’s highest law.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Where the show’s values were once givens, almost diorama labels, now they’re presented as more fugitive and unstable, what its characters would hope the world to be.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Among geologists, there are givens: Humans don’t build things that last a million years.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Advertisement Henderson noted that 486 voters had registration information that was incomplete or inaccurate and that a third of that group registered decades ago, when the state did not have the same requirements.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Abhisek, my personal butler, looked after my every requirement while offering a wealth of insight into local customs, food and architecture.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The settlement includes other stipulations.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Cate Charron The Senate unanimously gave final approval to a bill adding new stipulations to Indiana's public records law.—
Hayleigh Colombo,
IndyStar,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
What’s clear is that a changing of the guard is in store, with the apparent exception of international basketball’s GOAT, Kevin Durant.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Even in parts of California where the average home isn’t likely to save with a heat pump, there are plenty of exceptions.—
Ben Christopher,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“If.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/if. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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