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

And by “they,” I mean Chris Stewart, who is the man behind the marble, as it were.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

She stated that “reader and writer sit down to a game, as it were, with the odds, of course, altogether on the latter’s side.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

"Just for a minute I felt I'd got somewhere. Got, as it were, the clue to the thing. It's gone now. Go ahead with what you were saying."

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie