Summary
The Excel NOT function returns the opposite of a given logical or boolean value. When given TRUE, NOT returns FALSE.When given FALSE, NOT returns TRUE. Use the NOT function to reverse a logical value.
Purpose
Reverse arguments or results
Return value
A reversed logical value
Syntax
=NOT (logical)
Arguments
- logical – A value or logical expression that can be evaluated as TRUE or FALSE.
Usage notes
Use the NOT function to reverse a value or logical argument, that is, if logical is FALSE, NOT returns TRUE. If logical is TRUE, NOT returns FALSE.
Why would you want to do this? A common example is to reverse the behavior of another function. For example, If the cell B5 is blank, then the formula =ISBLANK(B5) will return TRUE. NOT can be used to reverse this result to FALSE like this:
=NOT(ISBLANK(B5))
In essence, by adding NOT, you are able to create a formula that behaves like ISNOTBLANK, which doesn’t exist in Excel.
