as it were

Idioms  

1. Seemingly, in a way, as in He was living in a dream world, as it were. A shortening of “as if it were so,” this idiom has been in use since Chaucer's time (he had it in his Nun's Priest's Tale, c. 1386). Also see so to speak.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

as it were

But the “news hook,” as it were, is the “Winning Works” program of the city’s Joffrey troupe and a program that encourages the creation of new work from underrepresented constituencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

But the realization dawned that Ronnie might, as it were, take the bullet for Stuart.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

After years at war – or performing military service as it were – they’re back to pick up where they left off with their lives, music and fans.

From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2026

They aimed to retain the “breathing units” of biblical speech, even if that meant straining German with Hebraic syntax; the criteria, Mendes-Flohr observes, were “not aesthetic but, as it were, respiratory.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

They involved doing penance for a sin not yet committed, intense and fervent penance accompanied by scourging and flagellation, so as to build up, as it were, a store of credit.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman