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Question

The plus sign (+) is for selecting the next sibling.

Is there an equivalent for the previous sibling?

Accepted Answer

No, there is no "previous sibling" selector.

On a related note, ~ is for general successor sibling (meaning the element comes after this one, but not necessarily immediately after) and is a CSS3 selector. + is for next sibling and is CSS2.1.

See Adjacent sibling combinator from Selectors Level 3 and 5.7 Adjacent sibling selectors from Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 Revision 1 (CSS 2.1) Specification.

Answer 2

I found a way to style all previous siblings (opposite of ~) that may work depending on what you need.

Let's say you have a list of links and when hovering on one, all the previous ones should turn red. You can do it like this:

/* default link color is blue */
.parent a {
  color: blue;
}

/* prev siblings should be red */
.parent:hover a {
  color: red;
}
.parent a:hover,
.parent a:hover ~ a {
  color: blue;
}

<div class="parent">
  <a href="#">link</a>
  <a href="#">link</a>
  <a href="#">link</a>
  <a href="#">link</a>
  <a href="#">link</a>
</div>

Answer 3

Selectors level 4 proposes :has() (previously the subject indicator !) which will, one day, allow you to select a previous sibling with:

previous:has(+ next) {}

… but at the time of writing browser support is practically non-existent.

Over the years this answer has attracted dozens of "It's still not supported" comments (now deleted). Please don't add any more. There's a link to an up to date browser support chart in the answer.

Answer 4

Consider the `order` property of flex and grid layouts.

I'll focus on flexbox in the examples below, but the same concepts apply to Grid.

With flexbox, a previous sibling selector can be simulated.

In particular, the flex order property can move elements around the screen.

Here's an example:

You want element A to turn red when element B is hovered.
<ul>
    <li>A</li>
    <li>B</li>
</ul>

STEPS

Make the ul a flex container.
```
ul { display: flex; }
```

Reverse the order of siblings in the mark-up.
```
<ul>
   <li>B</li>
   <li>A</li>
</ul>
```

Use a sibling selector to target Element A (~ or + will do) .
```
li:hover + li { background-color: red; }
```

Use the flex order property to restore the order of siblings on the visual display.
```
li:last-child { order: -1; }
```

...and voilà! A previous sibling selector is born (or at least simulated).

Here's the full code:

ul {
    display: flex;
}

li:hover + li {
    background-color: red;
}

li:last-child {
    order: -1;
}

/* non-essential decorative styles */
li {
    height: 200px;
    width: 200px;
    background-color: aqua;
    margin: 5px;
    list-style-type: none;
    cursor: pointer;
}

<ul>
    <li>B</li>
    <li>A</li>
</ul>

From the flexbox spec:

5.4. Display Order: the order property

Flex items are, by default, displayed and laid out in the same order as they appear in the source document. The order property can be used to change this ordering.

The order property controls the order in which flex items appear within the flex container, by assigning them to ordinal groups. It takes a single <integer> value, which specifies which ordinal group the flex item belongs to.

The initial order value for all flex items is 0.

Also see order in the CSS Grid Layout spec.

Examples of "previous sibling selectors" created with the flex order property.

.container { display: flex; }

.box5 { order: 1; }    
.box5:hover + .box4 { background-color: orangered; font-size: 1.5em; }

.box6 { order: -4; }
.box7 { order: -3; }
.box8 { order: -2; }
.box9 { order: -1; }
.box9:hover ~ :not(.box12):nth-child(-1n+5) { background-color: orangered;
                                              font-size: 1.5em; }
.box12 { order: 2; }
.box12:hover ~ :nth-last-child(-1n+2) { background-color: orangered;
                                        font-size: 1.5em; }
.box21 { order: 1; }
.box21:hover ~ .box { background-color: orangered; font-size: 1.5em; }

/* non-essential decorative styles */
.container {
    padding: 5px;
    background-color: #888;
}
.box {
    height: 50px;
    width: 75px;
    margin: 5px;
    background-color: lightgreen;
    display: flex;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
    text-align: center;
    cursor: pointer;
}

<p>
Using the flex <code>order</code> property to construct a previous sibling selector
</p>

<div class="container">
    <div class="box box1"><span>1</span></div>
    <div class="box box2"><span>2</span></div>
    <div class="box box3"><span>3</span></div>
    <div class="box box5"><span>HOVER ME</span></div>
    <div class="box box4"><span>4</span></div>
</div>

<br>

<div class="container">
    <div class="box box9"><span>HOVER ME</span></div>
    <div class="box box12"><span>HOVER ME</span></div>
    <div class="box box6"><span>6</span></div>
    <div class="box box7"><span>7</span></div>
    <div class="box box8"><span>8</span></div>
    <div class="box box10"><span>10</span></div>
    <div class="box box11"><span>11</span></div>
</div>

<br>

<div class="container">
    <div class="box box21"><span>HOVER ME</span></div>
    <div class="box box13"><span>13</span></div>
    <div class="box box14"><span>14</span></div>
    <div class="box box15"><span>15</span></div>
    <div class="box box16"><span>16</span></div>
    <div class="box box17"><span>17</span></div>
    <div class="box box18"><span>18</span></div>
    <div class="box box19"><span>19</span></div>
    <div class="box box20"><span>20</span></div>
</div>

Panorama Média Global

Is There a "Previous Sibling" Selector?

26 Answers

Consider the `order` property of flex and grid layouts.

Maya Lin-Takahashi

26 Answers

Consider the order property of flex and grid layouts.

Maya Lin-Takahashi

Consider the `order` property of flex and grid layouts.