˜yĐÄvlog

Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

what-if

[ hwuht-if, hwot‑, wuht‑, wot‑ ]

adjective

  1. hypothetical:

    a what-if scenario.



noun

  1. a hypothetical case or situation; conjecture:

    a series of what-ifs.

what-if

noun

  1. informal.
    a hypothetical question; speculation

    one of the great what-ifs of modern history

“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
Discover More

˜yĐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of what-if1

First recorded in 1980–85
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Suppose that, as in What if the speaker doesn't get here in time? This expression is in effect a shortening of “what would happen if.” It was first recorded about 1420.
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He takes a wisp of an idea, a what-if, and turns it into a viable aesthetic.

From

That isn’t to say Burns’ safely declarative dialogue and what-if storytelling won’t spur you to think of your own relationship and matters of fulfillment.

From

Original screenwriter Alex Garland, meanwhile, has become a signature filmmaker of his own, recently releasing the disturbing what-if action movie “Civil War.”

From

Rangers folk may feel tortured by those what-if moments as much as the missed penalty much later on.

From

Detention camps, punishing tariffs, discredited “America first” slogans, appeasing dictators and, in a bizarre what-if, even suggesting compromising on slavery.

From

Advertisement

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

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

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement