if not

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Adverb[edit]

if not (not comparable)

  1. Used to link a semantically weaker word to a semantically stronger word following the adverb, both sharing the same basic meaning, indicating the increased likelihood of the former.
    • 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times[1]:
      People who talk about an imminent possibility of war seldom pose this question: What would North Korea’s leadership get from unleashing a war that they are likely to lose in weeks, if not days?

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