How to exclude specific terms in MySQL fulltext boolean search

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1

I’m trying to search my database table and get all records except those containing a specific word. When I use the minus operator alone, it doesn’t work as expected. The MySQL documentation explains that the minus operator only excludes rows that would otherwise match other search terms. If you only use terms with minus signs, you get no results at all instead of getting all rows except the excluded ones.

Right now I’m using a workaround where I add wildcard matches for every letter of the alphabet like “a* b* c* … x* y* z* -unwanted_term”. This forces other results to match first, then excludes what I don’t want.

Is there a better or more elegant solution for this type of exclusion search in MySQL fulltext?

2

Skip the alphabet wildcard thing - combine fulltext search with regular WHERE clauses instead. Run your fulltext query first, then use NOT LIKE or NOT REGEXP to filter out what you don’t want. Try SELECT * FROM table WHERE MATCH(content) AGAINST('your_search_terms') AND content NOT LIKE '%unwanted_term%'. You’ll get better control and cleaner code than forcing matches on every letter. Performance might vary based on your dataset size, but it’s way more readable and maintainable than your current workaround.