as it were

adverb

as if it were really so (Freq. 4)

-

she lives here, as it were

• Syn: ↑so to speak

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SO TO SPEAK, in a manner of speaking, to some extent, so to say; informal sort of.

→ as

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phrasal

: as if it were so : in a manner of speaking

her triumph, as it were, did not last long

* * *

as it were

1. So to speak

2. In a kind of way

• • •

Main Entry: ↑as

* * *

as it were phrase

used for making a description sound less definite or less exact

Mandela became, as it were, the father of the nation.

Thesaurus: ways of describing something in a general way_synonym

Main entry: as

* * *

in a way (used to be less precise)

areas that have been, as it were, pushed aside

* * *

as it were

— used to say that a statement is true or accurate in a certain way even if it is not literally or completely true

His retirement was, as it were [=so to speak], the beginning of his real career.

• • •

Main Entry: ↑as

* * *

as it ˈwere idiom

used when a speaker is giving his or her own impression of a situation or expressing sth in a particular way

•

Teachers must put the brakes on, as it were, when they notice students looking puzzled.

Main entry: ↑as_idiom