as it were
64
6.9
- idiom
- Formal
:
por así decirlo
- The thrill, as it were, is being on the side of the victor.
- looking as it were
You need, as it were, the brutality of life.
- You need, as it were, the brutality of life.
- And in my digging my my research, as it were, I think I can call it research.
- I want you to trim the hedges, as it were.
- So at some point you do come home, as it were.
- This is our end of year party, as it were.
- He says, you see here, Marcus, the very form, and as it were, the face of moral goodness.
- It's it's a baked in bias, reflecting as it were the the unconsciously.
- God is the, the terms, as it were, on which there can be anything.
- Now this third type of staying as it were is what I call mandated staying.
- At first, consciousness appears as, as it were frozen as minerals and stones.
Examples
-
After all, I toil in the vineyard of the Lord, as it were.
Fiction book (1996) -
"We are the secret agents, as it were, in cases of alienation of affection."
Fiction book (1997) -
How did you pay the rent, as it were during those years?
-
The first way, as it were, is let's take the second one first.
-
I'd like the Governor to have, as it were, a private audience with his new friend.
Fiction book (1997) -
Where and when do you want to peak, as it were, in terms of your accomplishments?
-
Paradoxically, the soul has a capacity, as it were, to be drawn above its capacity.
Academic text (2008) -
And if you go on a Thursday, there's a Chinese buffet, all you can eat, as it were.
-
Their conditions have, as it were, rather been a by-product of the comprehensive welfare project.
Academic text (1991) -
He is, as it were, the heart and soul of the project, even if he does not hold a formal title.
Synonyms
80
5.6
As a way of saying something that is not exactly true
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase functions as a hedging/discourse marker meaning 'so to speak' or 'in a manner of speaking.' While the component 'as' suggests a comparative relation and a learner might infer a vague sense of 'in a way,' the fixed, somewhat archaic/subjunctive construction ('were') and its pragmatic nuance are not fully predictable from the literal meanings, so prior exposure is typically needed.
Etymology
As it were is a small phrase speakers use to show they are not being exact. Imagine someone making 'air quotes' with their fingers to show the words are a loose comparison; you use as it were to mean 'so to speak' or 'not exact'.