can't stand

(redirected from can't bear)
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Related to can't bear: cannot bear

can't stand (someone or something)

Cannot tolerate someone or something due to an aversion or a strong sense of disgust or dislike. Ugh, I can't stand obnoxious guys who always have to dominate the conversation. I could never be a doctor or nurse—I just can't stand the sight of blood. Now I'm just waiting to hear if I got into my first-choice school, and the uncertainty is killing me. I can't stand it!
See also: stand

can't stand (the sight of) someone or something

 and can't stomach someone or something
Fig. [to be] unable to tolerate someone or something; disliking someone or something extremely. (Also with cannot.) I can't stand the sight of cooked carrots. Mr. Jones can't stomach the sight of blood. None of us can stand this place. Nobody can stand Tom when he smokes a cigar.
See also: stand

can't stand

Also, can't abide or bear or stomach . 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.
See also: stand
References in periodicals archive ?
THE least surprising quote of the week comes from omnipresent John Barrowman, who says: "Often actors say they can't bear to watch themselves on TV, but I'm not like that - I love watching myself
THE least surprising quote of [...]
I can't bear the disillusionment of seeing our heroes failing to belt out our anthem.
Oh! the shame; LETTERS
He reports: "My incredibly hard-working staff can't bear the thought of me having any spare time.
In need of more energy
Q SOMETIMES after I've climaxed during sex my clitoris is so sensitive that I can't bear my husband touching it.
Dear Rachael: I GET TOO SENSITIVE TO BE TOUCHED..
I don't think I've ever really done vulgar - I can't bear it" - Fashion designer Bruce Oldfield, lamenting the "death of elegance"
They say
Usually I love to see determined, driven young women doing well but I just can't bear watching her play.
MARIA SHOULD CUT OUT RACKET
She said: "If it's good and tolerable, that's fine, but I can't bear a lot of that noisy jazz.
Still in tune with life at 100
This is a group that loves power and can't bear the thought of sharing it.
EDITORIAL POWER FREAKS COUNCIL SHOWS MORE CONTEMPT FOR PUBLIC WILL
Jack knows that inventing intelligent bots is illegal, but when the bot, who names himself Waldo, helps the duo out of a tight jam, Jack can't bear to betray the girl and her companion.
Bechard, Margaret. Spacer and Rat
In a new biography about the diplomat Harold Nicolson, Michael Rose describes how, after negotiations with the French president, the British foreign secretary Lord Curzon threw himself onto a scarlet sofa crying: 'I can't bear that horrid little man.
Valerie Hill: The privileges of class
It's misogynist and insulting, and it's something I can't bear.
On the rise: from a featured corps member to the lead in Sylvia with a wave of Mark Morris' casting wand
Burton notes, "Ellington's champions in the jazz history field, like Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch, are in denial because they can't bear the thought that one of the two greatest heroes of jazz might have been gay.
Jazz: A Film
The title phrase suggests the temporary loan of works that the artist can't bear to sell as well as those that haven't found a buyer, a nod to Calvin's ongoing consideration of his own participation in the art world.
OPENINGS BRIAN CALVIN
I can't bear it when you are looking at breasts on screen for no particular reason" - Actress Zoe Tapper, who admits to having undressed in film roles but only when the script required it.
" TODAY'S QUOTES" COMMENT
Stay calm, apologise and tell her that you trust her judgment, but you can't bear to think of her being hurt so you overreacted.
Mum's boyfriend is a serial cheat
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