jQuery not()
by callback function
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.4.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){ $("p").not(function(){ return $("span", this).length == 2;}).css("background-color", "yellow"); });//w w w. ja v a 2 s .c o m </script> </head> <body> <div> <p>A p element <span>with one span element.</span></p> <p>A p element <span>with</span> two <span>span elements.</span></p> <p>A p element <span>with one span element.</span></p> <p>A p element <span>with</span> two <span>span elements.</span></p> <p>A p element with no span element.</p> </div> <div>This example returns all p elements that do not have two span elements.</div> </body> </html>