The phrase "as if rather" is not correct and does not convey a clear meaning in written English.
It is not usable in standard English contexts due to its awkward construction and lack of clarity.
Example: "He acted as if rather than just saying what he meant."
Alternatives: "as though instead" or "as if instead".
Now it looks as if, rather than simply being clueless, he was slippery and evasive.
"It was almost as if rather than imagining the memories, they were actually seeing them," said Carhart-Harris.
It was as if, rather than living in Algeria, he was always visiting the country as a researcher gathering material for his writings.
It is difficult to convey just how well they played against the enormous scale of this stage, other than to say that it felt as if, rather than merely witnessing Mr. Lagerfeld's vision, one had entered it.
At times it has looked as if rather than Cook it has been Prior, flapping his hands around like a policeman on point duty, who has been running things.
And so, it starts to appear as if, rather than living in ignorance both of the big picture and of one another, they are collaborating in creating a stonking old-fashioned yarn.
They promise over seven times the space efficiency of the earthy kind, while doubling as attractive, if rather morbid, landmarks in their own right.
The ball darted and swooped as if controlled remotely rather than manipulated by a master conjuror.
He comes off as well-intentioned, if rather patronizing and overly sensitive to his own chivalry.
Yet presumably it was Delpy herself who wrote Céline's acerbic dialogue, and Hawke who wrote Jesse as an affable, if rather insipid, nice guy.
It is easy to imagine her as a beautiful (if rather dithery) schoolgirl because she still looks like one, though she is now in her thirties.
