兩者詞序相反，意義區別也很大，后者有兩個主要意思。如：

(1) 表示“按照某詞通用的詞義”“根據某詞嚴格的詞義”。如：

It's not an agreement as such, but it will have virtually the same effect as one. 就協議的詞義而言，它算不上是協定，但實際上起到了協定的作用。
I can't call my book a best seller as such but it's very popular. 我不敢說我的書是暢銷書，但可以說很受歡迎。

(2) 表示“就本身而論”。如：

Money as such will seldom bring happiness. 金錢本身很少帶來幸福。
Money, as such, does not bring happiness. 金錢本身并不給人帶來快樂。

(3) 表示“以某種身份(或資格)”“像所指的人(或事物)那樣”。如：

She is a kind woman and is known as such. 她是位好心腸的女人，這是大家知道的。
He is the author of the article, but he does not desire to be known as such. 他是文章的作者，但他不想讓人知道他是作者。