CSS !important

Subject: css

CSS !important

The !important rule in CSS is used to give a particular property the highest level of priority, even overriding inline styles and normal specificity rules. It’s a way to force a style to be applied regardless of other competing styles.

Although powerful, !important should be used sparingly and only when necessary, as overusing it can make CSS hard to maintain and debug.

Syntax

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When to Use !important

  • To override styles applied by third-party libraries or frameworks
  • To enforce critical styles that are being overridden by other selectors
  • In legacy projects where refactoring CSS is not feasible

Example: Using !important to Override Other Styles

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Explanation

  • The <p> tag has both .highlight and .force-red classes
  • .highlight tries to set the text color to blue
  • .force-red uses !important, so it overrides .highlight and sets the color to red

Best Practices

  • Avoid using !important in large-scale projects unless absolutely necessary
  • Prefer increasing selector specificity or restructuring CSS
  • Use it when you cannot control external stylesheets, like browser defaults or third-party CSS

Key Takeaways

  • !important forces a CSS property to override all others, including inline styles
  • It overrides normal specificity rules
  • Use !important with caution—excessive use leads to messy and hard-to-maintain code
  • Ideal for overriding third-party or inline styles when refactoring is not possible
Next: CSS Property Rule