• JavaScript
  • JavaScript
  • Tutorials and guides
  • Beginner's tutorials
    1. JavaScript Guide
      1. Loops and iteration
      2. Representing dates & times
      3. Working with objects
      4. Iterators and generators
      5. Asynchronous JavaScript
      6. Equality comparisons and sameness
      7. Meta programming
      8. AggregateError
      9. AsyncGenerator
      10. BigInt
      11. DataView
      12. encodeURI()
      13. escape() Deprecated
      14. Float16Array
      15. Generator
      16. Int8Array
      17. InternalError Non-standard
      18. Iterator
      19. NaN
      20. parseInt()
      21. ReferenceError
      22. SharedArrayBuffer
      23. Temporal Experimental
      24. Uint8ClampedArray
      25. unescape() Deprecated
      26. WeakSet
  • Assignment (=)
  • Bitwise AND (&)
  • Bitwise OR assignment (|=)
  • Comma operator (,)
  • Destructuring
  • Exponentiation (**)
  • Greater than (>)
  • import.meta.resolve()
  • Inequality (!=)
  • Less than (<)
  • Logical NOT (!)
  • Multiplication assignment (*=)
  • Nullish coalescing assignment (??=)
  • Optional chaining (?.)
  • Right shift (>>)
  • Strict inequality (!==)
  • this
  • Unsigned right shift (>>>)
  • yield*
  • Block statement
  • continue
  • export
  • for...in
  • if...else
  • let
  • try...catch
  • with Deprecated
  • get
  • The arguments object
    1. callee Deprecated
    2. extends
    3. Static initialization blocks
  • Character class escape: \d, \D, \w, \W, \s, \S
  • Input boundary assertion: ^, $
  • Modifier: (?ims-ims:...)
  • Quantifier: *, +, ?, {n}, {n,}, {n,m}
  • Errors
    1. RangeError: argument is not a valid code point
    2. RangeError: invalid array length
    3. RangeError: repeat count must be less than infinity
    4. ReferenceError: assignment to undeclared variable "x"
    5. SyntaxError: 'arguments'/'eval' can't be defined or assigned to in strict mode code
    6. SyntaxError: \ at end of pattern
    7. SyntaxError: await is only valid in async functions, async generators and modules
    8. SyntaxError: continue must be inside loop
    9. SyntaxError: function statement requires a name
    10. SyntaxError: identifier starts immediately after numeric literal
    11. SyntaxError: invalid assignment left-hand side
    12. SyntaxError: invalid class set operation in regular expression
    13. SyntaxError: invalid property name in regular expression
    14. SyntaxError: invalid unicode escape in regular expression
    15. SyntaxError: missing ) after argument list
    16. SyntaxError: missing } after property list
    17. SyntaxError: missing variable name
    18. SyntaxError: numbers out of order in {} quantifier.
    19. SyntaxError: property name __proto__ appears more than once in object literal
    20. SyntaxError: rest parameter may not have a default
    21. SyntaxError: super() is only valid in derived class constructors
    22. SyntaxError: unlabeled break must be inside loop or switch
    23. TypeError: 'caller', 'callee', and 'arguments' properties may not be accessed
    24. TypeError: "x" is not a function
    25. TypeError: BigInt value can't be serialized in JSON
    26. TypeError: can't convert BigInt to number
    27. TypeError: can't redefine non-configurable property "x"
    28. TypeError: class constructors must be invoked with 'new'
    29. TypeError: Initializing an object twice is an error with private fields/methods
    30. TypeError: Iterator/AsyncIterator constructor can't be used directly
    31. TypeError: property "x" is non-configurable and can't be deleted
    32. TypeError: X.prototype.y called on incompatible type
    33. JavaScript technologies overview
    34. Strict mode
    35. Learn more
    36. See full compatibility
  • The logical NOT (!) (logical complement, negation) operator takes truth to falsity and vice versa. It is typically used with boolean (logical) values. When used with non-Boolean values, it returns false if its single operand can be converted to true; otherwise, returns true.

    Try it

    const a = 3;
    const b = -2;
    
    console.log(!(a > 0 || b > 0));
    / Expected output: false
    

    Syntax

    js
    !x
    

    Description

    Returns false if its single operand can be converted to true; otherwise, returns true.

    If a value can be converted to true, the value is so-called truthy. If a value can be converted to false, the value is so-called falsy.

    Examples of expressions that can be converted to false are:

    • null;
    • NaN;
    • 0;
    • empty string ("" or '' or ``);
    • undefined.

    Even though the ! operator can be used with operands that are not Boolean values, it can still be considered a boolean operator since its return value can always be converted to a Boolean constructor.

    Examples

    Using NOT

    The following code shows examples of the ! (logical NOT) operator.

    js
    !true; / !t returns false
    !false; / !f returns true
    !""; / !f returns true
    !"Cat"; / !t returns false
    

    Double NOT (!!)

    It is possible to use a couple of NOT operators in series to explicitly force the conversion of any value to the corresponding boolean primitive. The conversion is based on the "truthiness" or "falsiness" of the value (see falsy).

    The same conversion can be done through the Boolean() function.

    js
    !!true; / !!truthy returns true
    !!{}; / !!truthy returns true: any object is truthy…
    !!new Boolean(false); / … even Boolean objects with a false .valueOf()!
    !!false; / !!falsy returns false
    !!""; / !!falsy returns false
    !!Boolean(false); / !!falsy returns false
    

    Converting between NOTs

    The following operation involving booleans:

    js
    !!bCondition
    

    is always equal to:

    js
    bCondition
    

    Specifications

    Specification
    ECMAScript® 2026 Language Specification
    # sec-logical-not-operator

    Browser compatibility

    See also