Dictionary

as it were en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English as it were, as hyt were, als it were, als hit were, from Old English *ealswā hit wǣre, attested only as swā hit wǣre and swylċe hit wǣre (“as it were”, literally “as it would be”). Compare Dutch als het ware.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see as, it, were.
2. (not-comparable) Used to indicate that a word or statement is perhaps not exact though practically right; as if it were so.
   • With so much construction and renovation going on all around him, he was more or less living in a new city now, as it were. [His city is not newly founded, and it has been neither renamed nor moved, but in some practical way it is true that he does not live in the same city that he used to live in.]
   • Yet so strong is the parental ambition among those Polygons who are, as it were, on the fringe of the Circular class, that it is very rare to find a Nobleman of that position in society, who has neglected to place his first-born in the Circular Neo-Therapeutic Gymnasium before he has attained the age of a month. 1884, Edwin Abbott Abbott, Flatland, A Romance of Many Dimensions:
   • God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the ſtrength of an Vnicorne. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 23:22, column 2:
   • [T]here was no very clear vision, to these people, of supra-mundane beings, sitting apart and ordaining the affairs of earth, as it were from a distance. 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 91:
3. (not-comparable) Used to draw attention to the use of a metaphor, sometimes to prevent confusion or to highlight wordplay.
   • Congress ended the bracero program in 1964, and the next 15 years were the salad days, as it were, for farmworkers 2017 March 31, “Hail Cesar!”, in National Review:
   • Concerns that cloud seeding might “steal” water from an area a cloud is traveling toward—robbing Peter to water Paul, as it were—have been dispelled.
   • The Volkswagen diesel-emissions exploit was caused by a software failing, even if it seems to have been engineered, as it were, deliberately- 2015 November 5, “Stop Calling Yourselves Engineers”, in The Atlantic:
   • Scientists hope Crispr might also be used for genomic surgery, as it were, to correct errant genes that cause disease. 2014 March 3, “A Powerful New Way to Edit DNA”, in New York Times:
   • She gave all of the women seated at the restaurant food for thought, as it were.

Coordinates

in a sense · in a way · no pun intended · after a fashion

Relateds

as if

Synonyms

metaphorically · figuratively · in a manner of speaking · if you will · so to speak · so to speak · if you will

Translations (33)

mk што се вика (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · cy fel petai (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · hu mintha (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · pl niejako (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · no mer eller mindre (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · lt lyg (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · ru так сказа́ть (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · sh малтене (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · yi כּבֿיכול (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · ka ასე ვთქვათ (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · nds-de as dat weer (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · de sozusagen (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · sv liksom (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · hu kvázi (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · la ut ita dicam (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · fi niin sanotusti (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · fr pour ainsi dire (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · hu mintegy (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · cs jakoby (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · pt por assim dizer (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · cmn 可說 /可说 (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · de gewissermaßen (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · mi ētia (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · af as't ware (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · pt digamos assim (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · cmn 好像 (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · gd mar gum biodh (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · nl als het ware (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · de gleichsam (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · da så at sige (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · sv så att säga (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · sv typ (to indicate a word or statement is not exact) · lt tarytum (to indicate a word or statement is not exact)