can't help

1. Also,. Be unable to do otherwise. For example, I can't help thinking that the keys will turn up eventually, or He couldn't help but believe he would pass the entrance exam, or I cannot but applaud his efforts. The first of these phrases, can't help, is always followed by a present participle whereas the others take an infinitive. [c. 1700]

Example Sentences

“I think government’s there to help the people who can’t help themselves. And there’s a lot of people that can’t help themselves,” Burton said, describing his view of a politician’s job in an oral history interview by Open California.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Gallagher brothers can’t help but be themselves, and that’s why people are so drawn to them.”

From Los Angeles Times

From the shots of its streetscapes to its architecture, the images tell the story of a place that feels too close, crowded to the point that Mare can’t help but step on a lot of toes without wanting and meaning to.

From Salon

Yet you can't help but feel for the way Guehi has been treated through no fault of his own.

From BBC

Although the states argue that telemedicine prescriptions are the real threat to their abortion bans, they can’t help themselves from making a maximalist ask: Should the FDA revoke its original approval of mifepristone from 2000, and should Comstock ban the mailing of abortion drugs?

From Slate