NOT
Reverses the logical value of its argument. TRUE becomes FALSE, and FALSE becomes TRUE.
NOT(logical)Arguments
logicalA value or expression that evaluates to TRUE or FALSE
=NOT(A1>10)TRUE if A1 is NOT greater than 10
=NOT(ISBLANK(A1))TRUE if A1 is NOT blank
=IF(NOT(B1=""),B1,"Empty")Returns B1 if it's not empty
- •Useful for reversing the result of other logical functions
- •NOT(TRUE) returns FALSE, NOT(FALSE) returns TRUE
- •Often combined with ISBLANK, ISERROR, and other IS functions
- •Nesting NOT around a complex AND/OR expression when restructuring the logic directly (like swapping AND for OR) would be clearer and avoid the double-negative reasoning
- •Using NOT on a value that isn't strictly TRUE or FALSE, like a number or text, and being surprised by how Excel coerces it before evaluating
- •Forgetting NOT only takes a single argument - trying to pass multiple conditions directly into NOT instead of combining them with AND or OR first
Can NOT take more than one argument?
No, NOT only accepts a single logical value. To negate multiple conditions, combine them first with AND or OR, then wrap the whole thing in NOT.
What does NOT do with a number like 0 or 1?
Excel treats 0 as FALSE and any non-zero number as TRUE for logical purposes, so NOT(0) returns TRUE and NOT(1) returns FALSE.
Is NOT(AND(...)) the same as OR(NOT(...),NOT(...))?
Yes, that's De Morgan's law in action - the two are logically equivalent, though NOT(AND(...)) is usually more compact to write.
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