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View synonyms for if

if

1

[ if ]

conjunction

  1. in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that:

    Sing if you want to. Stay indoors if it rains. I'll go if you do.

  2. even though:

    an enthusiastic if small audience.

  3. whether:

    He asked if I knew Spanish.

  4. (used to introduce an exclamatory phrase):

    If only Dad could see me now!

  5. when or whenever:

    If it was raining, we had to play inside.



noun

  1. a supposition; uncertain possibility:

    The future is full of ifs.

  2. a condition, requirement, or stipulation:

    There are too many ifs in his agreement.

if

2
or IF

IF

1

abbreviation for

  1. intermediate frequency
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


if

2

/ ɪf /

conjunction

  1. in case that, or on condition that

    if you try hard it might work

    if he were poor, would you marry him?

  2. used to introduce an indirect question. In this sense, if approaches the meaning of whether
  3. even though

    an attractive if awkward girl

    1. used to introduce expressions of desire, with only

      if I had only known

    2. used to introduce exclamations of surprise, dismay, etc

      if this doesn't top everything!

  4. as if
    as it would be if; as though

    he treats me as if I were junior to him

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an uncertainty or doubt

    the big if is whether our plan will work at all

  2. a condition or stipulation

    I won't have any ifs or buts

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Usage Note

If meaning “whether,” as in I haven't decided if I'll go, is sometimes criticized, but the usage is long established as standard.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of if1

First recorded before 900; Middle English, variant of yif, Old English gif, gef; akin to Old Norse ef “if,” Gothic ibai “whether,” Old High German iba “condition, stipulation”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of if1

Old English gif; related to Old Saxon ef if, Old High German iba whether, if
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. ifs, ands, or buts, reservations, restrictions, or excuses:

    I want that job finished today, and no ifs, ands, or buts.

More idioms and phrases containing if

  • as if
  • damned if I do, damned if I don't
  • make as if to
  • no ifs or buts
  • nothing if not
  • (if) push comes to shove
  • what if
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Synonym Study

If, provided, providing imply a condition on which something depends. If is general. It may be used to indicate suppositions or hypothetical conditions (often involving doubt or uncertainty): If you like, we can go straight home. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone. If may mean even though: If I am wrong, you are not right. It may mean whenever: If I do not understand, I ask questions. Provided always indicates some stipulation: I will subscribe ten dollars provided ( on the condition ) that you do, too. Provided he goes, we can go along. Providing means the same as provided, that is, just in case some certain thing should happen: We will buy the house, providing ( provided ) we can get a mortgage.
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Example Sentences

It requires that likely answers be anticipated, that elaborate “if/then” scenarios be war-gamed.

If they abused that power, it would be noticed-if not by the press, then by their colleagues, and if noticed, then punished.

Seems like people in dangerous neighborhoods are braver and trust in God more than people in safer neighborhoods-if you ask me.

That is, when things are going well, no one feels compelled to spend money on a what-if project.

Andrew hopes he sees in this division the seeds of a "return to sanity" if/after Romney loses.

If-itty-teshi-mow Jays Haddee ny up-plo-now-shi-buh nays;ha!

It is a succession of short notes rapidly uttered, as if the bird said "if-if-if-if-if-if-if."

By all the gods!if he had only known Who held him between life and death upon the Mauvais Pas!

Sir S. returned the nod stiffly, with an "I-wonder-if-I-really-do know-you,-or-if-this-is-a-trick-to-claim-acquaintance?"

If so, I knew him now for a fiend in very truth!if burning horror and endless shame can so transfigure the soul of man!

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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