Synonyms

can't stand

Idioms

Also,. Thoroughly dislike; be unable to put up with something or someone. For example, I can't stand the sight of her; she's obnoxious, or I can't bear to leave the country, or I can't stomach a filthy kitchen. The oldest of these synonymous expressions is can't abide, which Shakespeare used in 2 Henry IV (3:2): “She could not abide Master Shallow.” Can't stand dates from the early 1600; can't bear dates from about 1700 and often but not always is used with an infinitive; can't stomach dates from the late 1600s and today is less common than the others.

Example Sentences

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can't stand

"They keep taking things, I can't stand it," protests the person recording with their phone.

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026

But as I was standing up, I heard a man say, “You can’t stand up.”

From Slate ● May 19, 2026

"I just can't stand this guy," Trump said at a Kentucky rally with Gallrein in March.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

“It doesn’t have to be: OK, you can’t touch the tree, or, we’re going to whack the tree back so much that you can’t stand to look at it,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

“We can’t stand here all day waiting,” Mr. Murphy said.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

can't stand

Example Sentences

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