Strikethrough Text Generator

Generate crossed out text instantly with this free online strikethrough text generator. Enter your words to create clean strikethrough text that you can copy and paste anywhere into social media, messages, or documents. The tool applies text strikethrough directly in your browser without sending your data to any remote server.

Type or paste text to apply strikethrough styling
Choose style

Works in most apps. Some platforms or fonts may display the effect differently.

Your text is processed in your browser and never sent to a server.

What Is Strikethrough Text?

Strikethrough text draws a horizontal line through characters. Readers also call it strike through text, strikeout text, or crossout text. In editing, writers cross out text to display revisions while keeping words readable. When an app lacks formatting buttons, an online crossed out text generator creates this effect instantly. Using strikethrough in text marks finished items or price cuts. Putting a line through text preserves history, while strikethrough on text adds humor in casual posts. To strikethrough the text anywhere, Unicode combining marks work reliably.

Where Strikethrough Text Is Used

  • Task lists: Marking completed items gives clear visual proof of progress.
  • Price comparisons: Retailers display original prices with a line through them beside sale prices.
  • Editorial reviews: Reviewers propose text deletions while keeping original phrasing visible to authors.
  • Social messaging: Users share ironic commentary, second thoughts, or playful self-corrections.

How to Convert Normal Text to Strikethrough

How can I convert normal text to strikethrough? To convert normal text to strikethrough, follow these four steps. Readers asking how to strikethrough text, how do you strikethrough text, or how do i strikethrough text can generate characters immediately:

  1. Type or paste your text into the "Your text" box.
  2. Select your preferred line style below.
  3. Keep "Also strike spaces" checked for a continuous line.
  4. Click Copy, or click Download .txt to save a file.
Before and After Conversion Example

Before: Hello World

After: H̶e̶l̶l̶o̶ ̶W̶o̶r̶l̶d̶

Single-Line Strikethrough and Other Styles

If you need a single-line strikethrough text generator, choose from seven line styles:

  • Long strike: Continuous single-line strikethrough across letters (H̶e̶l̶l̶o̶).
  • Short strike: Short horizontal stroke through each letter (H̵e̵l̵l̵o̵).
  • Slash: Forward solidus across each letter (H̸e̸l̸l̸o̸).
  • Wavy strike: Tilde mark through character centers (H̴e̴l̴l̴o̴).
  • Underline: Single continuous line beneath each letter (H̲e̲l̲l̲o̲).
  • Double underline: Two parallel lines under your words (H̳e̳l̳l̳o̳).
  • Tilde style: Double tildes (~~old text~~) for Markdown platforms.

How Strikethrough Text Works

Digital platforms create crossed-out lines through either presentation styling tags or plain Unicode combining characters.

Unicode Text vs HTML, CSS and Markdown

The code for strikethrough depends on your writing environment. Web developers use HTML tags like <s> or <del>, CSS rules like text-decoration: line-through;, or Markdown syntax like ~~old text~~. Unlike rich formatting, our tool uses the Unicode combining long stroke overlay (code point U+0336). Appending U+0336 to each letter makes the stroke part of plain text, allowing it to survive copy and paste into form fields and social bios.

Why It Can Look Different on Some Apps

Unicode strikethrough appearance depends on device fonts and application rendering. Type designers position combining marks at varying heights relative to the baseline, which can make lines look higher or lower across different phones. Additionally, some apps strip non-standard Unicode symbols during security sanitization, causing combining marks to disappear upon posting. Always test pasted text in a private message or draft first.

How to Strikethrough Text on Social Media and Chat Apps

People often ask: Can you strikethrough in WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, iMessage, Messages, text messages, on iPhone or on a phone? Formatting rules and options differ across social networks and chat platforms.

Discord

Discord supports native Markdown formatting. To create discord strikethrough text in chat messages, wrap words in double tildes: ~~old text~~. This applies strikethrough text discord styling immediately upon sending. Anyone wondering how to strikethrough text in discord can also paste Unicode characters directly into messages.

Reddit

To display reddit strikethrough text using the rich text editor, highlight words and click the Strikethrough icon. When writing in the Markdown editor, add double tildes before and after words: ~~old text~~. The platform renders strikethrough text reddit posts and comments as crossed out upon publishing.

WhatsApp

To format strikethrough text in whatsapp, place a single tilde at each end of the phrase: ~old text~. On mobile devices, select the words you want to cross out and tap Strikethrough from the context menu (under More on Android, or BIU on iPhone).

Twitter

At the time of writing, X's help pages do not list a strikethrough option for regular posts. Articles on X support strikethrough. To share twitter strikethrough text in standard posts or bios, generate Unicode crossed-out text and paste it into the composer. This lets you publish strikethrough text on twitter whenever standard strikethrough text twitter controls are unavailable.

Instagram and TikTok

At the time of writing, their help pages do not list a strikethrough option. You can share strikethrough text instagram posts and TikTok captions by generating Unicode crossed-out text and pasting it in. Keep in mind that the 150-character limit applies to the Instagram bio, so combining marks reduce available character space there.

iPhone, Messages and Text Messages

Apple Messages formats text in iMessage: select words in the compose field, tap Text Format above the keyboard, choose Strikethrough, and send. Caveat: both sender and recipient use iMessage, and recipients see the formatting on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 or later. Otherwise the message appears as plain text. To send strikethrough text iphone chats without native features, paste Unicode strikethrough text on iphone threads.

How to Strikethrough Text in Google Docs, Word, Excel and Outlook

Productivity suites include menu options to strike out text across documents, spreadsheets, and emails. Keyboard combinations for these programs are collected in the shortcuts section below.

Google Docs

To format strikethrough text google docs documents: 1. Highlight the text to cross out. 2. Click Format in the top menu. 3. Select Text, then click Strikethrough. Applying google docs strikethrough text clarifies proposed edits. Understanding how to strikethrough text in google docs, how do i strikethrough text in google docs, and how do you strikethrough text in google docs keeps files orderly. Repeating these steps removes the line. Shortcuts for a single google doc text strikethrough are below.

Microsoft Word

To turn on strikethrough text word formatting: 1. Select your text. 2. Click the Home tab. 3. Click the Strikethrough button (ab) in the Font group. For double strikethrough, click the Font dialog launcher on the Home tab, check Double strikethrough, and click OK. Repeating the action removes the styling.

Excel

To apply strikethrough text excel formatting: 1. Select target cells or formula bar text. 2. Click the Home tab. 3. Open the Font Settings dialog launcher. 4. Under Effects, check Strikethrough and click OK. Applying strikethrough text in excel marks obsolete data while keeping formulas intact. Formatting excel strikethrough text through this dialog gives complete control. To learn how to strikethrough text excel cells, how to strikethrough text in excel, or how do i strikethrough text in excel using keys, see the shortcut table below.

Outlook

To apply strikethrough text in outlook messages: 1. Select text in your draft email. 2. Click the Format Text tab. 3. Click Strikethrough in the Font group. Learning how to strikethrough text in outlook clarifies revisions before sending. Classic Outlook offers double strikethrough in the Font dialog, while new Outlook supports single strikethrough. Plain text emails do not support styling, so strikethrough text outlook drafts must use HTML format.

Strikethrough Text Shortcuts

Using a strikethrough text shortcut speeds up reviews. Pressing a dedicated keystroke to strikethrough text or text strikethrough shortcut hotkey avoids ribbon menus. Below is the hotkey for strikethrough text table across major platforms.

Keyboard shortcuts to apply and remove strikethrough text across office applications
Application Windows / Chrome OS Mac
Google Docs Alt + Shift + 5 Command + Shift + X
Microsoft Word Ctrl + D then Alt + K (Font Dialog) Command + Shift + X
Microsoft Excel Ctrl + 5 Shift + Command + X
Microsoft Outlook Format Text ribbon button Format Text ribbon button

Memorizing your preferred strikethrough text hotkey or strikethrough text shortcut key keeps editing fast.

Is There a Ctrl Shortcut for Strikethrough?

Users frequently ask: Is there a Ctrl shortcut or control function for strikethrough? In Microsoft Excel on Windows, pressing Ctrl + 5 directly toggles strikethrough. In Microsoft Word on Windows, there is no direct single Control shortcut; press Ctrl + D then Alt + K. Google Docs on Windows uses Alt + Shift + 5 instead of a Control key.

FAQs

Q1: How do you strikethrough text?

Ans: To strikethrough text online, enter words into our generator, pick a line style, and click Copy. In desktop software, click the Strikethrough ribbon icon or use keyboard shortcuts.

Q2: Is this tool free and is my text saved?

Ans: This strikethrough generator is completely free. All conversions run locally inside your web browser using JavaScript, meaning your text is never transmitted to or stored on any server.

Q3: Why is my strikethrough text not showing after I paste it?

Ans: Pasted strikethrough text disappears when a destination app strips Unicode combining marks during security sanitization or when its system font lacks glyphs to draw the horizontal line overlay.