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Synonyms

if only

Idioms  

  1. I wish that. For example, If only I had known you were coming I would have met your plane, or If only it would snow on Christmas Eve. [c. a.d. 1000] For a synonym, see would that.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Still, Gottlieb called that spurt “special,” if only for the fact that it showed USC still has some life as it opens the postseason Thursday against Washington in the Big Ten tournament.

From Los Angeles Times

If only the market didn’t have other things to worry about.

From Barron's

In what is now the most challenging time in the island's modern history, it's not yet clear if only the Museum of the Revolution will be undergoing a renovation this year – or the Cuban Revolution itself.

From BBC

Elisha waited, pleading, and pacing the parlor until Mrs. Walter convinced Maggie to see the man, if only to make him leave.

From Literature

If Labour manage to win, even if only by a smidgen, it will be a huge psychological boost for Sir Keir Starmer after a particularly rough start to 2026 for him.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.