can't help but
Compelled to do
Can't help but introduces something unavoidable or irresistible—an action or feeling that happens despite one's intentions: I can't help but wonder what might have been, You can't help but laugh at his jokes.
The phrase is slightly redundant (can't help and can't but mean the same thing), but it's thoroughly established in standard English.
Interchangeable with can't help followed by a gerund: I can't help wondering.
- compelledMade to act
- have toBe obligated
- drivenIntensely determined to achieve
- mustObligatory requirement
- forcedMade to occur unwillingly
no choice but · destined · inevitable · drawn · drawn to · obliged · overwhelmed · inescapable · haunted · instinctively · hard wired · unpreventable · bound · stuck · constrained · preoccupied · fixated · consumed
can't help butresist
Oppose or refuse compliance
hold back · keep from · avoid · help oneself · bite one's tongue
can't help butdeliberately
Done with intention
intentionally · consciously · voluntarily · by choice · on purpose
can't, cannot, help, helps, helped, helping, helper, helpers, helpful