what if

W w

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hwuht, hwot, wuht, wot if]
- /ʰwʌt, ʰwɒt, wʌt, wɒt ɪf/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hwuht, hwot, wuht, wot if]
- /ʰwʌt, ʰwɒt, wʌt, wɒt ɪf/

Definitions of what if words

adjective what if (used interrogatively before nouns): What news? What clothes shall I pack? 1
adjective what if whatever: Take what supplies you need. 1
noun what if the true nature or identity of something, or the sum of its characteristics: a lecture on the whats and hows of crop rotation. 1
adverb what if to what extent or degree? how much?: What does it matter? 1
adverb what if (used to introduce a prepositional phrase beginning with with): What with storms and all, their return was delayed. 1
adverb what if Obsolete. for what reason or purpose? why? 1

See all 24 definitions of what if

Information block about the term

Origin of what if

First appearance:

before 1980

One of the 1% newest English words

First recorded in 1980-85

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for What if

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of What if

what if popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 51% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 56% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

what if usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for what if

conjunction what if

assuming — You use assuming or assuming that when you are considering a possible situation or event, so that you can think about the consequences.

Just one Synonym for what if