Word.ws English Dictionary

not if, but when

not if, but when adverb: inevitably.

Adverb

not if, but when (not comparable)

  1. Inevitably.
    • Not if, but when your files eventually get corrupted, you'll turn into the kind that makes back-ups.

Origin of not if, but when

Used as an intensifier when a scenario is considered extremely likely, such that if (implying low likelihood) is not sufficient to represent its probability of occurrence. (Whereas if implies only possibility, when implies certainty, where only the time that something happens is unknown.)

Questions about not if, but when

What does not if, but when mean?
Not if, but when means inevitably.
What part of speech is not if, but when?
Not if, but when is an adverb.

Words near not if, but when in the dictionary

  1. not have the first idea
  2. not here for a haircut
  3. not here to fuck spiders
  4. not hit a cow's arse with a banjo
  5. not if I see you first
  6. not if, but when
  7. not in a million
  8. not in a million years
  9. not in Kansas any more
  10. not in Kansas anymore
  11. not in the least

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: not if, but when (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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