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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

what-if en · NOUN

Meanings

  1. (informal) A speculation as to what might have happened if something else had happened earlier.
    • Each man was running over the what ifs in his mind. 2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin, page 199:
  2. (informal) A hypothetical case or situation, usually evoked by a sense of anxiety or uncertainty.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
what-ifs Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

what-iffery

Relateds

what if

wikipedia: Abraham Lincoln · wikipedia: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

what-if en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (informal) To speculate about the consequences of something that could have happened.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
what-ifs Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
what-iffed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
what-iffed Tense=Past lexicographic
what-iffing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Relateds

ifs, ands, or buts · counterfactual

wikipedia: Abraham Lincoln · wikipedia: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln