:not()
The :not()
CSS pseudo-class represents elements that do not match a list of selectors. Since it prevents specific items from being selected, it is known as the negation pseudo-class.
/* Selects any element that is NOT a paragraph */
:not(p) {
color: blue;
}
The :not()
pseudo-class has a number of quirks, tricks, and unexpected results that you should be aware of before using it.
Syntax
The :not()
pseudo-class requires a comma-separated list of one or more selectors as its argument. The list must not contain another negation selector or a pseudo-element.
:not( <complex-selector-list> )where
<complex-selector-list> = <complex-selector>#
where
<complex-selector> = <compound-selector> [ <combinator>? <compound-selector> ]*
where
<compound-selector> = [ <type-selector>? <subclass-selector>* [ <pseudo-element-selector> <pseudo-class-selector>* ]* ]!
<combinator> = '>' | '+' | '~' | [ '||' ]where
<type-selector> = <wq-name> | <ns-prefix>? '*'
<subclass-selector> = <id-selector> | <class-selector> | <attribute-selector> | <pseudo-class-selector>
<pseudo-element-selector> = ':' <pseudo-class-selector>
<pseudo-class-selector> = ':' <ident-token> | ':' <function-token> <any-value> ')'where
<wq-name> = <ns-prefix>? <ident-token>
<ns-prefix> = [ <ident-token> | '*' ]? |
<id-selector> = <hash-token>
<class-selector> = '.' <ident-token>
<attribute-selector> = '[' <wq-name> ']' | '[' <wq-name> <attr-matcher> [ <string-token> | <ident-token> ] <attr-modifier>? ']'where
<attr-matcher> = [ '~' | | | '^' | '$' | '*' ]? '='
<attr-modifier> = i | s
Description
There are several unusual effects and outcomes when using :not()
that you should keep in mind when using it:
- The
:not
pseudo-class may not be nested, which means that:not(:not(...))
is invalid. - Useless selectors can be written using this pseudo-class. For example,
:not(*)
matches any element which is not an element, which is obviously nonsense, so the accompanying rule will never be applied. - This pseudo-class can increase the specificity of a rule. For example,
#foo:not(#bar)
will match the same element as the simpler#foo
, but has a higher specificity. :not(.foo)
will match anything that isn't.foo
, including<html>
and<body>
.- This selector only applies to one element; you cannot use it to exclude all ancestors. For instance,
body :not(table) a
will still apply to links inside of a table, since<tr>
will match with the:not()
part of the selector. - You can negate several selectors at the same time. Example:
:not(.foo, .bar)
is equivalent to:not(.foo):not(.bar)
.
Examples
Basic set of :not() examples
HTML
<p>I am a paragraph.</p>
<p class="fancy">I am so very fancy!</p>
<div>I am NOT a paragraph.</div>
<h2>
<span class="foo">foo inside h2</span>
<span class="bar">bar inside h2</span>
</h2>
CSS
.fancy {
text-shadow: 2px 2px 3px gold;
}
/* <p> elements that don't have a class `.fancy` */
p:not(.fancy) {
color: green;
}
/* Elements that are not <p> elements */
body :not(p) {
text-decoration: underline;
}
/* Elements that are not <div> and not <span> elements */
body :not(div):not(span) {
font-weight: bold;
}
/* Elements that are not <div>s or `.fancy` */
body :not(div, .fancy) {
text-decoration: overline underline;
}
/* Elements inside an <h2> that aren't a <span> with a class of `.foo` */
h2 :not(span.foo) {
color: red;
}
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
Selectors Level 4 # negation |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
- Pseudo-classes
- Pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements
- Related CSS pseudo-classes: