as it were

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.

Example Sentences

But Mr. Sachs instead sticks to the script, as it were, delivering something in the “My Dinner With Andre” tradition of two people simply talking to each other.

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The latest evidence for the prosecution, as it were, comes from the Social Security rolls, which show that record numbers of people are now claiming monthly benefits.

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"If I was taking a punt, as it were, I would say that within three years he'll be a kicker in the NFL," said Winter.

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"But it was very, very moving. It lifted the pressure, a weight off my head, as it were," he says.

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The Prince of Hong Kong, as it were, albeit for a couple of months.

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