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
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

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
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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