How Does CSS Inheritance Affect Specificity and Property Overriding?

Inherited CSS Properties and Specificity

When multiple CSS declarations target the same element, the one with the highest specificity takes precedence. The CSS specificity calculation rules are well-documented in the W3 recommendation. However, it is less clear how inherited properties fit into this scheme.

Inheritance introduces a layer of complexity because an inherited property effectively combines the specificity of its parent element with its own. This means that a property inherited from a highly specific parent element can override a directly applied property with lower specificity.

Consider the following example:

<h2 class="all_red_text">This should be black</h2>

h2 {
  color: black;
}

.all_red_text {
  color: red;
}

In this example, the color property is inherited from the

element with class all_red_text. The all_red_text class has a specificity of 0,1,0. The h2 selector has a specificity of 0,0,1.

According to the CSS specificity rules, the more specific selector (the h2 selector in this case) should take precedence. However, because the color property is inherited, it effectively has the specificity of the parent element (0,1,0).

As a result, the color property inherited from the parent element overrides the directly applied color property. The text within the h2 element is black instead of red.

This behavior can be confusing at first, but it is an important part of how CSS inheritance works. By understanding how inherited properties affect specificity, you can avoid unexpected results and ensure that your CSS code behaves as intended.

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