The phrase "as if instead" is not correct and does not convey a clear meaning in written English.
It may be intended to express a hypothetical situation or an alternative approach, but it lacks clarity and coherence.
Example: "He acted as if instead of studying, he was going to the party."
Alternatives: "as though instead" or "as if in place of".
It's as if, instead of with the stove, Mamet were keeping himself warm with the things he loves.
It's as if, instead of the Kentucky Derby, viewers were urged to enjoy the spectacle of thoroughbreds harnessed as dray horses.
Yet it's as if, instead, Preminger's film had spent almost half a century buried in a sack and, now that it's out of the bag, can be judged with perspective.
It was as if, instead of fixing up the targeted house, the renovators decided to do some engine work on a recreational vehicle parked three blocks down the road.
Here the flat tone makes the book leaden where it should be playfully tongue-in-cheek, as if instead of mocking the spy genre's clichés Fielding were simply embracing them.
IF you didn't know better, had never been taught the proper technique, you might approach a piano with your hands flat and fingers splayed, as if instead of striking the keys you were going to dribble them.
This is pretty much the plot to the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, with Morrison as Scrooge, if instead of being visited by three ghosts, Scrooge had spent Christmas Eve imprisoning Tiny Tim and holding him to ransom until Bob Cratchit gave him what he wanted.
One can only wonder how much better we would all be as a people if instead they had encouraged the artistic and intellectual education of the middle class.
If instead, as we all hope, we start returning to growth late this year or early next, ministers will face a more difficult set of choices.
"If, instead, as I believe, the problem is another one, then we must resolve it through work".
According to Frankfurt, the sort of freedom needed for assessments of moral responsibility turns crucially on whether or not the agent reveals herself in acting as she does, or if instead her conduct is in some way alien to her.
