: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.

Try it

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>) {
  /* ... */
}

Description

There are several unusual effects and outcomes when using :not() that you should keep in mind when using it:

  • 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 the higher specificity of two id selectors.
  • The specificity of the :not() pseudo-class is replaced by the specificity of the most specific selector in its comma-separated argument of selectors; providing the same specificity as if it had been written :not(:is(argument)).
  • :not(.foo) will match anything that isn't .foo, including <html> and <body>.
  • This selector will match everything that is "not an X". This may be surprising when used with descendant combinators, since there are multiple paths to select a target element. For instance, body :not(table) a will still apply to links inside a <table>, since <tr>, <tbody>, <th>, <td>, <caption>, etc. can all match the :not(table) part of the selector.
  • You can negate several selectors at the same time. Example: :not(.foo, .bar) is equivalent to :not(.foo):not(.bar).
  • If any selector passed to the :not() pseudo-class is invalid or not supported by the browser, the whole rule will be invalidated. The effective way to overcome this behavior is to use :is() pseudo-class, which accepts a forgiving selector list. For example :not(.foo, :invalid-pseudo-class) will invalidate a whole rule, but :not(:is(.foo, :invalid-pseudo-class)) will match any (including <html> and <body>) element that isn't .foo.

Examples

Using :not() with valid selectors

This example shows some simple cases of using :not().

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>s or `.fancy` */
body :not(div):not(.fancy) {
  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

Using :not() with invalid selectors

This example shows the use of :not() with invalid selectors and how to prevent invalidation.

HTML

<p class="foo">I am a paragraph with .foo</p>
<p class="bar">I am a paragraph with .bar</p>
<div>I am a div without a class</div>
<div class="foo">I am a div with .foo</div>
<div class="bar">I am a div with .bar</div>
<div class="foo bar">I am a div with .foo and .bar</div>

CSS

/* Invalid rule, does nothing */
p:not(.foo, :invalid-pseudo-class) {
  color: red;
  font-style: italic;
}

/* Select all <p> elements without the `foo` class */
p:not(:is(.foo, :invalid-pseudo-class)) {
  color: green;
  border-top: dotted thin currentcolor;
}

/* Select all <div> elements without the `foo` or the `bar` class */
div:not(.foo, .bar) {
  color: red;
  font-style: italic;
}

/* Select all <div> elements without the `foo` or the `bar` class */
div:not(:is(.foo, .bar)) {
  border-bottom: dotted thin currentcolor;
}

Result

The p:not(.foo, :invalid-pseudo-class) rule is invalid because it contains an invalid selector. The :is() pseudo-class accepts a forgiving selector list, so the :is(.foo, :invalid-pseudo-class) rule is valid and equivalent to :is(.foo). Thus, the p:not(:is(.foo, :invalid-pseudo-class)) rule is valid and equivalent to p:not(.foo).

If :invalid-pseudo-class was a valid selector, the first two rules above would still be equivalent (the last two rules showcase that). The use of :is() makes the rule more robust.

Specifications

Specification
Selectors Level 4
# negation

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also