How to use the strikethrough text generator
- Type or paste the words you want crossed out. All twelve styles update as you type.
- Pick a line style. Strikethrough is the standard horizontal line; Short stroke is thinner; Slash and Crossed out (X) look like hand-scribbled corrections.
- Tick “Strike through spaces too” if you want one continuous line across several words instead of a gap at each space.
- Copy and paste into Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube comments, Discord names, text messages or a document.
To cross out only part of a sentence, use the composer: write the whole message and wrap words in tildes. To clean up text that already has lines through it, paste it and press Remove strikethrough.
How Unicode strikethrough works
There is no “strikethrough letter A” in Unicode. Instead, Unicode has combining characters: invisible marks that attach to the character before them. The generator inserts one after every letter, so no becomes n + U+0336 + o + U+0336, displayed as n̶o̶. Because the result is plain text, the lines survive copy and paste into places that strip formatting.
| Style | Combining mark | Code point | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strikethrough | Combining long stroke overlay | U+0336 | d̶o̶n̶e̶ |
| Short stroke | Combining short stroke overlay | U+0335 | d̵o̵n̵e̵ |
| Slash through | Combining long solidus overlay | U+0338 | d̸o̸n̸e̸ |
| Crossed out (X) | Solidus + reverse solidus overlays | U+0338 + U+20E5 | d̸⃥o̸⃥n̸⃥e̸⃥ |
| Wavy strike | Combining tilde overlay | U+0334 | d̴o̴n̴e̴ |
| X above | Combining x above | U+033D | d̽o̽n̽e̽ |
| Underline | Combining low line | U+0332 | d̲o̲n̲e̲ |
| Double underline | Combining double low line | U+0333 | d̳o̳n̳e̳ |
Side effects to know: each styled character counts as two characters toward length limits, some fonts draw the stroke slightly off-centre or with gaps, and screen readers may read out the marks or skip them. Search usually still works because the base letters are unchanged.
Native strikethrough, platform by platform
Where an app or editor has its own strikethrough, prefer it: it is real formatting, cleaner to read, and accessible. Use Unicode where there is no option, such as Instagram captions or usernames.
| Where | How |
|---|---|
| Discord | ~~text~~ in messages. Nicknames and statuses need Unicode. |
~text~, or select text → Strikethrough in the menu | |
| Slack | ~text~, or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X |
| Telegram and Signal | Select text → Formatting → Strikethrough (Telegram also accepts ~~text~~) |
| Microsoft Teams | Ctrl+Shift+X, or the Format toolbar |
| Google Docs | Alt+Shift+5 (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+X (Mac) |
| Microsoft Word | Home → abc button; Cmd+Shift+X on Mac; on Windows, Ctrl+D opens Font where you tick Strikethrough |
| Excel and Google Sheets | Ctrl+5 (Sheets on Mac: Cmd+Shift+X) |
| Outlook | Format Text → abc button in the message window; Outlook on the web shows it in the formatting bar |
| Markdown (GitHub, Reddit, Notion, Obsidian) | ~~text~~ |
| HTML | <s>no longer accurate</s> or <del>removed</del> |
| CSS | text-decoration: line-through; |
| Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, LinkedIn | No native option in posts or bios: use Unicode strikethrough |
<s> or <del> in HTML?
<del> means content was removed from a document, such as an edit or a changed price in a changelog, and can carry datetime and cite attributes. <s> means content that is no longer accurate or relevant but kept for reference, like a sold-out ticket tier. Both render with a line through by default; style either with CSS text-decoration, including text-decoration-thickness and text-decoration-color for a custom line.
Ideas for using strikethrough text
- Sale prices: “$̶4̶9̶ now $29” is the classic use in shop captions and Marketplace listings.
- Humour and self-correction: “I’m going to the g̶y̶m̶ couch” shows what you nearly said.
- Checklists and updates: cross off finished tasks or outdated information while keeping it visible.
- Profiles and names: a crossed-out word in a Discord nickname or TikTok bio where formatting is not supported.
For other effects, try bold text, italic text, or the fancy text generator. If you are writing web pages, the HTML code generator covers the <s> and <del> tags.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make strikethrough text?
Type your text in the box and copy the Strikethrough result. Each character is followed by the combining long stroke overlay (U+0336), which draws a line through it. Paste it anywhere that accepts text, including apps with no formatting options.
How do you strikethrough text in Discord?
Wrap the text in two tildes on each side: ~~like this~~. Discord uses Markdown, so the line is real formatting and stays readable for screen readers. Unicode strikethrough from this generator also works in Discord nicknames, where Markdown does not.
How do you strikethrough on WhatsApp?
Put a single tilde on each side of the text: ~like this~. WhatsApp shows the line once the message is sent. You can also select the text, open the menu and choose Strikethrough on Android, or Format then Strikethrough on iPhone.
How do I strikethrough text on Instagram or Facebook?
Neither app has a strikethrough button for captions, bios or comments. Use this generator, or the composer to cross out only certain words, then paste the result. The lines survive because they are Unicode characters.
What is the keyboard shortcut for strikethrough?
Google Docs uses Alt+Shift+5 on Windows and Cmd+Shift+X on Mac. Excel and Google Sheets use Ctrl+5 (Cmd+Shift+X in Sheets on Mac). Microsoft Word has no default shortcut on Windows, but Cmd+Shift+X works in Word for Mac and you can assign one in Word for Windows.
Why does the line look broken between letters?
Each character gets its own stroke, and some fonts draw the stroke narrower than the letter, leaving small gaps. Spaces are skipped by default, so tick Strike through spaces too for an unbroken line. The look depends on the viewer's font and device.
Can people search for or read strikethrough text?
The base letters stay the same, so search usually still finds the words, but screen readers may read the combining marks aloud or ignore them. Use native formatting where it exists, such as ~~ in Discord or <del> in HTML, when meaning matters.