if not

if not (not comparable)

1. used to link a semantically weaker word to a semantically stronger word following the adverb, both sharing the same basic meaning, indicating the increased likelihood of the former
   • 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times‎:

     People who talk about an imminent possibility of war seldom pose this question: What would North Korea’s leadership get from unleashing a war that they are likely to lose in weeks, if not days?

• if not for

• notif