not
People say "not" to negate something. They mean the opposite, or that something should be excluded.
What a model may hear
- Boolean negation programming and logic
- flip true to false or reverse a condition in code
- Logical NOT operator databases and search
- exclude results matching a term
- Bitwise NOT low-level computing
- invert every bit in a binary number
- SQL NOT database queries
- negate a condition in a WHERE clause
Where people and models part ways
“I do not want X”
Meant: exclude X entirely
May be taken as: the model may still include X as a low-ranked option or interpret it as a soft preference
Say instead: “Exclude X completely. Do not mention X.”
“not too expensive”
Meant: keep cost reasonable
May be taken as: the model may treat this as a hard ceiling or ignore the subjective judgment
Say instead: “Keep cost under $50, or tell me if nothing fits that budget.”
“not sure”
Meant: I am uncertain
May be taken as: the model may treat this as a logical operation on the word 'sure' rather than a statement of doubt
Say instead: “I am uncertain about this.”
“do this, not that”
Meant: prefer the first option
May be taken as: the model may process both as equally valid inputs or negate the wrong clause
Say instead: “Do only this. Ignore that.”
Tips
- Put negations early in the sentence so they bind to what you intend.
- Use 'exclude,' 'omit,' or 'only' instead of 'not' when you want a hard boundary.
- Double negatives confuse models; say what you want directly.
- In code contexts, say 'logical negation' or 'Boolean NOT' to be precise.
- If you mean uncertainty, say 'uncertain' or 'unsure' rather than 'not sure.'
Often confused with
- no
- a determiner or answer, not an operator
- nor
- joins two negations, not a single flip
- none
- a quantity, not a logical operation
- except
- exclusion by inclusion of others
- without
- absence of something, not logical inversion
- !
- the symbol for NOT in many programming languages