How to use cannot in a sentence
40 example sentences · verb, noun
Cannot means can not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc.). Example: “I cannot open the window. It is stuck.”
Examples of cannot by meaning
verbCan not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc.).
- I cannot open the window. It is stuck.
- The butler cannot be the murderer, he cannot have killed her, because he was in another city at the time.
verbBe forbidden or not permitted to.
- You cannot enter the hall without a ticket.
- The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10
- “If China seeks to disrupt the global order, then China cannot continue to be party to international organizations that seek to preserve that order,” Republican Representative Frank Lucas, the House bill’s sponsor, posted on X.2026 February 11, Laura Davidson, quoting Frank Lucas, “US House Votes to Restrict China’s Global Ties If Taiwan Threatened”, in Bloomberg...
nounSomething that cannot be done.
- the cans and cannots
More sentences with cannot
- A singular experiment cannot be regarded as scientific proof of the existence of a phenomenon.From the entry singular
- I cannot square the results of the experiment with my hypothesis.From the entry square
- Black bears can tree their cubs for protection, but grizzly bears cannot.From the entry tree
- You cannot train your back without regard to your tris and bis.From the entry bi
- A lawyer cannot act until they have been formally instructed by their client.From the entry act
- In order for a suit to be kosher, it cannot contain both wool and linen together.From the entry kosher
- Genuine cowards follow wicked people and cannot reliably sustain any virtue.From the entry wicked
- He is of whole mind, but the same cannot be said about his physical state.From the entry whole
- The exact value of pi cannot be represented in decimal notation.From the entry value
- He cannot see you because he's feeling out of spirits today.From the entry out of
- This book cannot be copied without the express permission of the publisher.From the entry express
- If I wake up during the night, I cannot get off again.From the entry get off
- The denial of medical treatment to those who cannot afford to pay is scandalous.From the entry denial
- A society where a topic cannot be discussed, does not have free speech.From the entry topic
- The success of his undertaking is contingent upon events which he cannot control.From the entry contingent
- I cannot enjoy the online game because of my flaky Internet connection.From the entry flaky
- An inalienable right is a right that cannot be given away nor taken away.From the entry inalienable
- One cannot appreciate how stupendous the Matterhorn is without seeing it.From the entry stupendous
- The closing scene of Miller's "Death of a Salesman" cannot but evoke a feeling of deep pathos.From the entry closing
- We can discuss the issue tonight but cannot vote until we have a quorum.From the entry quorum
- I cannot act until I have taken instructions from my client.From the entry instruction
- We cannot trust him not to lie for his own gain: he's an opportunist and a pragmatist.From the entry pragmatist
- I cannot believe that you cut the cheese at the dinner table!From the entry cut the cheese
- The sledge ran far better upon the ice; I cannot say the same for the dogs.From the entry sledge
- No one is so depraved that a soupçon of goodness cannot be found in them.From the entry soupçon
- You cannot simply wait for a problem like that to blow over.From the entry blow over
- A man or his business is embarrassed when he cannot meet his pecuniary engagements.From the entry embarrass
- You are either a globalist or a nationalist; one cannot be both.From the entry nationalist
- My pup likes to run as fast as he can, yet cannot always stop in time!From the entry pup
- I cannot abandon my husband for the sake of self-interest and personal gain.From the entry self-interest
- Remember, if the winner cannot complete the duties, the runner-up will take over.From the entry runner-up
- That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.From the entry tangential
- Genuine cowards follow the wicked and cannot reliably sustain any virtue.From the entry reliably
- An Olympic athlete cannot perform at any level short of world-class.From the entry short of
Meaning of cannot
- verb Can not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc.).
- verb Be forbidden or not permitted to.
- noun Something that cannot be done.
Questions about cannot in a sentence
- How do you use cannot in a sentence?
- Cannot is used as a verb and noun. For example: “I cannot open the window. It is stuck.”
- What is a short sentence with cannot?
- “the cans and cannots”
- What does cannot mean?
- Cannot means can not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc.).
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cannot (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use cannot in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/cannot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.