1An adverb indicating that something appears or feels as if it were true, though it isn't. Usually appears in the pattern あたかも〜かのようだ ('as if...'); a somewhat formal, written-style expression close in meaning to まるで.
彼はあたかも何も知らないかのように振る舞った。
He acted as if he knew nothing.
あたかも映画のワンシーンのような夕焼けだった。
It was a sunset as if from a scene in a movie.
彼はあたかも成功を予見していたかのように話した。
He spoke as if he had foreseen the success.
2Used before a word denoting a time, season, or place to emphasize that something happens precisely then or there — 'just' or 'precisely'. Distinct from the more common あたかも〜ようだ ('as if') usage in sense 1.
事件が起きたのは、あたかもその日の深夜零時だった。
The incident occurred exactly at midnight that day.
あたかも桜の咲くころ、二人は初めて出会った。
The two of them first met right around the time the cherry blossoms were in bloom.