How to Use if only in a Sentence

if only

idiom
Definition of if onlynext
  • Wear it on your nails, if only for the week, for a festive reminder that love is in the air.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2024
  • The Astros need to act more woke if only to get Ted Cruz to boycott them.
    — Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 25 Oct. 2023
  • The city of Los Angeles will have a new top cop, if only for the next six or so months.
    — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024
  • In the other locker room Rapinoe smiled, if only to mask the pain.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2023
  • Stefanovic made all four free throws and UCLA was down 49-47, if only for the moment.
    — Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2024
  • When there’s one going on, all of our problems take a break, if only for an hour.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2023
  • And someone new will sit atop the leaderboard, if only for a moment.
    — Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2024
  • Don't be alarmed if only a few drops of water come from the connector port.
    — Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 29 Feb. 2024
  • To vary an old idiom: if only an ounce of compassion could be worth a pound of cure.
    — Longreads, 7 June 2024
  • Gil put those concerns to rest, if only for two stars, before some time off.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 14 July 2024
  • They’re encouraged to see it in theaters, if only, Pugh said, for the vibrations in the seat.
    — Thr Staff, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2024
  • But the promise of fresh produce was tempting enough to lure Johnson away from their love nest, if only for a short time.
    — Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 18 Sep. 2023
  • But the mini horror films inspired people to buy shakes (if only to make more videos).
    — Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN, 27 July 2023
  • While 2024 has not shaped up to be a stellar time for the pop superstar, things may turn around—if only slightly—in a few months.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024
  • Ancona wanted to crack the case, if only so the uncredited creators of the song could get their due.
    — Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 7 Dec. 2023
  • Jackson is currently back on the Billboard charts, if only for a few more hours.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Videogames have emerged as an answer—if only they could get rid of the speculators.
    — Jon Sindreu, WSJ, 10 Oct. 2023
  • Worth considering, if only for an hour or so, our place in the universe.
    — Catherine Womack, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • And a quirk in the state constitution could allow the 1864 ban to go back into effect, if only briefly, this fall.
    — Scott Cohn, CNBC, 13 July 2024
  • And what if only one company held the patents for the safety mechanism?
    — Ben Blatt, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
  • The franchise tag could be in play, if only as a temporary means of protection.
    — Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2024
  • In this version of the story, the U.K. would triumph if only the rest of Europe would stop punishing them for things like Brexit and so on.
    — Leila Sales, SPIN, 7 May 2024
  • What would happen if only two people were on the board or if no one was interested in being on the board?
    — Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2023
  • Now, if only somebody could come up with a greener tire option or rubber that lasts longer.
    — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2024
  • But these books are not universal stories, if only for the fact that they are written by writers.
    — Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2024
  • The wind was howling and all that roiling and fast-running water can put a fellow’s mind at ease, if only for a moment or two.
    — Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 8 June 2024
  • Now, if only our iPhones could pre-order our favorite in-flight beverage, we'd be all set.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 23 July 2024
  • This is one of the few (if only) senior losses Merchant has taken the entire 2023 season.
    — Todd Boss, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Malone has a lengthy, and detailed, prescription for what might have been, if only the industry, and sports-rights holders, had gone a different path.
    — David Bloom, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
  • But even a little more real-time transparency would surely bolster public trust, if only by dispelling some of the mystery.
    — David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'if only.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: