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

• as
• as though
• 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

In constructing a supply chain governed by the relentless pursuit of efficiency, trucking and railroad businesses treated their workers as if their own time was both limitless and without value, deserving of no compensation for hours stuck waiting for the next load. —Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 2 June 2024

And at court four, that’s when former President Trump shut his eyes and subtly shook his head as if to block out what was happening to him. —ABC News, 2 June 2024

Intifada comes from the Arabic root meaning to shake off, as if dust from a cloth. —Adrian Florido, NPR, 1 June 2024

Yet politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, continue to push for prison and jail closures as if the idea of incarcerating criminals is outdated. —Susan Shelley, Orange County Register, 30 May 2024

Chance — the half-naked guy on the left — waves around a fistful of lottery tickets above a golden urn, as if to taunt Fortune — the naked lady on the right. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024

The sprawling homeless encampment behind a stand of big-box stores has been around so long that people in the upstate New York city of Ithaca call it by name, as if referring to a neighborhood or historic district. —Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024

The majority of commenters seem to be reacting to the meme as if the information is factually accurate. —Athena Sobhan, Peoplemag, 17 May 2024

The scene opens with the action already underway, as if a bystander has just started recording an escalating drama. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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