CSS sibling selectors target elements that share the same parent: use + to select the immediately following sibling, or ~ to select matching siblings that appear later. Both work forward from the selector on the left. To style an earlier element based on what follows it, use :has() where supported.
How sibling selectors work
In a selector such as A + B or A ~ B, the element matched by the selector on the right is the target. The element matched by the selector on the left establishes the sibling relationship. Both elements must have the same immediate parent; being nearby in the document is not enough.
<div>
<h2>Heading</h2>
<p>First paragraph</p>
<div>Callout</div>
<p>Second paragraph</p>
</div>Here, the heading, paragraphs, and callout are siblings because they are children of the same div.
Adjacent sibling selector: select the next sibling with +
The adjacent sibling combinator matches a right-hand element only when it immediately follows a matching left-hand element, with no element sibling in between. In the example above, h2 + p matches only “First paragraph.” The callout interrupts adjacency, so the second paragraph does not match.
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h2 + p {
margin-top: 0;
}Text nodes, such as whitespace and line breaks in the HTML source, do not interrupt the element-sibling relationship. An intervening element does.
General sibling selector: select later siblings with ~
The general, or subsequent, sibling combinator matches qualifying right-hand elements that come anywhere later than the left-hand element under the same parent. Other element siblings may appear between them. Thus h2 ~ p matches both paragraphs in the example, including the one after the callout.
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h2 ~ p {
color: #444;
}The ~ combinator does not match earlier siblings. MDN describes it as widely available across browsers since July 2015; check your actual target if you support unusual legacy or embedded browsers. See MDN’s subsequent-sibling combinator reference.
Choose the right combinator
| Selector | Relationship required | What it selects |
|---|---|---|
A + B |
A and B share a parent; B is the next element sibling after A. | The immediately following matching B element. |
A ~ B |
A and B share a parent; B occurs after A. | Every matching later B sibling, whether or not other siblings intervene. |
A B |
B is nested somewhere inside A. | A descendant B, not necessarily a sibling. |
A > B |
B is directly inside A. | A child B, not a sibling. |
These symbols express different relationships, not interchangeable ways to reach a nearby element. MDN’s selectors and combinators guide covers the broader set of relationships.
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How to select an earlier element based on what follows it
CSS has no standalone backward sibling combinator. The relational pseudo-class :has() can instead match an element when a relative selector finds a sibling after it. For example, h1:has(+ p) matches an h1 immediately followed by a paragraph:
h1:has(+ p) {
margin-bottom: 0;
}Here the target is the heading, even though the relative selector inside :has() describes the following paragraph. To match a heading with any later paragraph sibling rather than only the adjacent one, use h1:has(~ p). MDN labels :has() Baseline 2023; verify support against the browsers your project needs, especially older or constrained targets. See MDN’s :has() reference.
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Troubleshoot a sibling selector that does not match
- Check the parent: the two elements must have the same immediate parent. An ancestor and a nested descendant are not siblings.
- Check the direction:
A + BandA ~ Blook forward from A; they do not select preceding elements. - Check intervening elements:
+fails if any element sibling sits between A and B. Use~if a later matching sibling should qualify despite intervening elements. - Check the target selector: the right-hand selector identifies the element being styled. Confirm that the later element actually matches B.
- Check nesting in the rendered markup: components or templates may place an element inside a wrapper, changing the immediate parent relationship from what the source template suggests.
- Check
:has()support: if a preceding-element condition relies on it, confirm the project’s target browsers support the selector.
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Further reading
For a broader treatment of CSS selectors, O’Reilly lists CSS: The Definitive Guide, 5th Edition by Eric Meyer and Estelle Weyl, published in May 2023. Its second chapter covers adjacent and following siblings. See the publisher’s listing.
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