if only
Americanidiom
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(used to express a wish or regret).
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(used before a reason why someone is doing something, to express that the reason may be a trivial one.)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sometimes the energy of all that “na-na-nah”-ing is infectious enough to unify rivals, if only for a few measures of music.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
You should also try it out for yourself, even if only for a couple of weeks during the on- and off-season of that area.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Tourists hauled their suitcases over the doorstep into the fray, fresh off a flight or rushing to make one, if only they could get one last chicken finger first.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
I myself am grateful for the appearance of Lord Ormund if only because Norton is clearly having a blast and his olfactory sensitivity and devotion to aromatherapy add some much needed humor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
It had never occurred to me to talk to a professor—I didn’t realize we were allowed to talk to them—so I decided to try, if only to prove to Charles I could do it.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
