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if

if
I i

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [if]
    • /ɪf/
    • /ɪf/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [if]
    • /ɪf/

Definitions of if word

  • noun if a supposition; uncertain possibility: The future is full of ifs. 1
  • noun if a condition, requirement, or stipulation: There are too many ifs in his agreement. 1
  • idioms if ifs, ands, or buts, reservations, restrictions, or excuses: I want that job finished today, and no ifs, ands, or buts. 1
  • noun if If meaning “whether,” as in I haven't decided if I'll go, is sometimes criticized, but the usage has been established in standard English for a long time. 1
  • noun if Introducing a conditional clause. 1
  • noun if in case that 1

Information block about the term

Origin of if

First appearance:

before 900
One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; Middle English, variant of yif, Old English gif, gef; akin to Old Norse ef if, Gothic ibai whether, Old High German iba condition, stipulation

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for If

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

if popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

if usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for if

conj if

  • whenever — At whatever time; on whatever occasion (emphasizing a lack of restriction).
  • wherever — where? (used emphatically): Wherever did you find that?

noun if

  • doubt — to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe.
  • uncertainty — the state of being uncertain; doubt; hesitancy: His uncertainty gave impetus to his inquiry.
  • question mark — Also called interrogation point, interrogation mark. a mark indicating a question: usually, as in English, the mark (?) placed after a question.
  • unknown — not known; not within the range of one's knowledge, experience, or understanding; strange; unfamiliar.
  • unknown quantity — mathematics: amount not known

adjective if

  • supposing — to assume (something), as for the sake of argument or as part of a proposition or theory: Suppose the distance to be one mile.

adverb if

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See also

Matching words

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