as it were
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Probably a truncation of "as it were so".
Adverb [edit]
- used to indicate that a word or statement is perhaps not exact though practically right.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Numbers 23:22:
- God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
- 1884, Edwin Abbott Abbott, Flatland, A Romance of Many Dimensions,
- Yet so strong is the parental ambition among those Polygons who are, as it were, on the fringe of the Circular class, that it is very rare to find a Nobleman of that position in society, who has neglected to place his first-born in the Circular Neo-Therapeutic Gymnasium before he has attained the age of a month.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Numbers 23:22:
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to indicate a word or statement is not exact
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