~ 1
■ preposition
1》 similar to.
↘in the manner of.
↘in a way appropriate to.
↘characteristic of.
↘used to ask about someone's or something's characteristics.
2》 in this manner.
3》 such as.
■ conjunction informal
1》 in the same way that.
2》 as though.
■ noun a similar person or thing.
↘( the ~ ) things of the same kind.
■ adjective having similar characteristics to another.
■ adverb
1》 informal used in speech as a meaningless filler.
2》 informal, chiefly US used to convey a person's reported attitude or feelings in the form of direct speech: so she comes in and she's ~ ‘Where is everybody?’
3》 ( ~ as/to ) archaic in the manner of.
Phrases
and the ~ et cetera.
~ anything informal, chiefly Brit. to a great degree.
( as ) ~ as not probably.
~ so informal in this manner.
the ~s of informal a person such as.
Origin
ME: from ON líkr ; related to a~ .
Usage
It is considered unacceptable in formal English to use ~ as a conjunction meaning ‘as if’ (as in he's behaving ~ he owns the place ). Use as if or as though instead.
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~ 2
■ verb
1》 find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory.
2》 wish for; want.
↘prefer: how do you ~ your coffee?
↘(in questions) feel about or regard.
■ noun ( ~s ) the things one ~s.
Origin
OE līcian 'be pleasing', of Gmc origin.