'twere

[ twur; unstressed twer ]

1. contraction of it were.

’twere

/ twə; twɜː /

contraction of

1. it were

Usage Note

See contraction.

Example Sentences

She consents to admit Ophelia only after Polonius’ death when she’s advised by Horatio that “’Twere good she were spoken with, for she may strew/Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds.”

From Los Angeles Times

Their purpose, he tells them, is to “hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature” and expose “the very age and body of the time”.

From The Guardian

However the game plays out, what is clear, to paraphrase a famous Englishman, is if it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done amicably — and not too quickly.

From New York Times

To read these ancient episodes is to be returned, as ’twere, to myself; in lost antiquity, I seek my restoration.

From Literature

In the role of Macbeth, Jack Stehlin the actor instructs his assassins that “’twere well it were done quickly.”

From Los Angeles Times