a leopard cannot change its spots
One cannot change one's own nature.
King.[…]Lyons make Leopards tame. / Mo[wbray]. Yea, but not change his ſpots:
cannot
UK /ˈkænɒt/ US /ˈkæ(n.)nɑt/
verb 2noun 2
Collocations
5ADJ.
careful, earlier, hungry, impossible, live, older, open, single
VERB + CANNOT
looks, say
CANNOT + NOUN
belief, murderer, window
PREP.
in, than, with, without
ADV.
away, simply
Definitions
verb
1
Can not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc).
I cannot open the window. It is stuck.
The butler cannot be the murderer, he cannot have killed her, because he was in another city at the time.
2
Be forbidden or not permitted to
The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Diſcharged as to one, and ſtand as to all the reſt.
The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.
noun
1
Something that cannot be done.
the cans and cannots
2
A person who cannot do (something).
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
a house divided against itself cannot stand
A group or organization that is weakened by internal dissent will not remain united.
Thirdly, sometimes by setting and fomenting divisions among Christians, Preacher against Preacher, Church against Church, well knowing, that a house divided against it selfe cannot
what has been seen cannot be unseen
Repulsive, disturbing, or horrific sights can never be erased from memory once they have been seen.
At Dachau he was witness to real rather than abstract suffering; what has been seen cannot be unseen, nor can it be rationalized.
cannot live with them, cannot live without them
Alternative form of can't live with them, can't live without them.
a stick in a bundle cannot be broken
Synonym of sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.
Example Bank
601
I cannot open the window. It is stuck.
Wiktionary02
The butler cannot be the murderer, he cannot have killed her, because he was in another city at the time.
Wiktionary03
The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they being all correi debendi,
Wiktionary04
the cans and cannots
Wiktionary05
What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?
Tatoeba · #173706
You don't marry someone you can live with — you marry the person whom you cannot live without.
Tatoeba · #1853Usage Notes
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