Samuel Taylor Coleridgesee also as is, as it were
Like vs. as: Usage Guide
Like has been used as a conjunction in ways similar to as since the 14th century. Although uses such as "Life isn't really like it is in the movies," "It looks like it's going to rain," and "shoes like a dancer wears" still draw criticism, there is no doubt that, after 600 years of use, conjunctive like is firmly established. In modern use it may be found in literature, journalism, and scholarly works as well as informal speech and writing. Nevertheless, when writing in a formal prose style, you may prefer to use constructions such as "Life isn't really as it is in the movies," "It looks as if it's going to rain," and "shoes such as a dancer wears" to avoid possible criticism.
Max Beerbohm
Examples of as in a Sentence
Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 27 Dec. 2025
In Friday’s court filing, Pavia describes this arrangement as unfair and unlawful under antitrust law.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Dec. 2025
Nick Lentz, CBS News, 4 Jan. 2026
By relying primarily on the rising edges of optical pulses, the system is robust against pulse-width variations caused by LED response characteristics, a phenomenon known as data-dependent pulse width shrinkage, as per the release.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for as
Cite this Entry
“As.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as. Accessed 5 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
as
1 of 5 adverb
as
2 of 5 conjunctionas
3 of 5 pronounas
4 of 5 prepositionas-
5 of 5
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