can't stand

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

can't stand

Healey warned the prime minister he'd have to quit if nothing changed, saying, "As it is, I can't stand behind this – and I would have to resign".

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

If you can’t stand the heat, better get out of the market’s kitchen.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

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

From Slate ● May 19, 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

“Nellie,” he’d said to my grandma, “I want to bring the children here to live with us until Shanon gets herself together. I can’t stand the thought of those kids being scattered to strangers.”

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Related Words

• abhor
• despise
• detest
• loathe
• scorn
• shun