Lest vs If - What's the difference?
lest | if |
For fear that; that . . . not; in order that . . . not; in case.
* '>citation
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-27, volume=408, issue=8846, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= That (without the negative particle); – after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.}}
Supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances that;
Supposing that;
Although;
(computing) In the event that a statement is true (a programming statement that acts in a similar manner).
Whether;
* 1715–1717 , , Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind , Canto III:
(usually hyperbolic) Even if; even in the circumstances that.
* 2004', (singers), “'''If It’s The Last Thing I Do” (song), in ''You Do Your Thing (album):
(informal) An uncertainty, possibility, condition, doubt etc.
* 1709, Susannah Centlivre, The Busy Body'', Act III, in John Bell (ed.), ''British Theater , J. Bell (1791),
* 1791 January, "Richard?on’s Chemical Principles of the Metallic Arts''", in ''The Monthly Review , R. Griffiths,
* {{quote-news, year=2013, date=April 9, author=Andrei Lankov, title=Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff., work=New York Times
, passage=Even if they managed to strike Japan, the United States or South Korea with nuclear weapons — a big if , given that they do not have a reliable delivery system — they could not save themselves from ultimate defeat.}}
As conjunctions the difference between lest and if
is that lest is for fear that; that . . . not; in order that . . . not; in case while if is supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances that; used to introduce a condition or choice.As a noun if is
an uncertainty, possibility, condition, doubt etc.As an initialism IF is
interactive fiction.lest
English
Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)Lunacy?, passage=Lest any astrologer reading this result get cocky, Dr Cajochen does not believe that what he has found is directly influenced by the Moon through, say, some tidal effect. What he thinks he has discovered is an additional hand on the body’s clock-face.}}
Usage notes
The word lest is always followed by the , usually in either the present or future tense. For example: Lest they be captured, the soldiers fled from the battlefield. The future subjunctive would simply employ the auxiliary word should .Synonyms
* (for fear that) (informal)See also
* judge not lest ye be judged * in case * lest we forgetAnagrams
* * *References
if
English
(wikipedia if)Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)- If it rains, I will get wet .
- I'd prefer it if you took your shoes off.
- He was a great friend, if a little stingy at the bar.
- If A, then B, else C.
- I don't know if I want to go or not.
- Quoth Matthew, “”
- If' it’s the last thing I do / '''If''' it takes me from Tubilo to Timbuktu / '''If''' it’s the last thing I do / I’m gonna dodge every road block, speed trap, county cop / To get my hands on you / ' If it’s the last thing I do.
Usage notes
* Specifically a subordinating conjunction.Derived terms
* iff * if and only if * if clause * if only * as if * even if * if so beAlternative forms
* ifen * iffenNoun
(en noun)page 59,
- Sir Fran.'' Nay, but Chargy, if——— ¶ ''Miran.'' Nay, Gardy, no Ifs'''.——Have I refus'd three northern lords, two British peers, and half a score knights, to have put in your ' Ifs ?
page 176,
- Well might Bergman add, (in his Sciographia,''), “if the compari?on that has been made, &c. be ju?t.” The pre?ent writer makes no ''ifs about the matter, and has ?uperadded a little inaccuracy of his own, […]
citation