Strikethrough Text Generator

How to use the strikethrough text generator

1. Type the words you want to cross out in the box above.
2. The Lines category is open, so strikethrough, slash and wavy styles are shown first.
3. Tap a style to copy it. "Copied ✓" confirms it.
4. Paste it into your caption, comment or message. Usually you only strike one or two words, so type just those and paste them into your sentence.

You can also tap a single crossed-out letter in the alphabet chart below. Strike through text copy and paste works the same way in every app, because nothing depends on that app's formatting tools. Your last copies are saved in the Recent list on your device, so a crossed-out phrase is easy to reuse.

How line through text works

A strikethrough button in a word processor adds formatting. Most social apps strip formatting, so this tool takes a different route.

After each letter, it adds a special Unicode character called a combining mark. Combining marks have no space of their own. They draw on top of the character before them. The mark used for classic strikethrough is the "combining long stroke overlay" (U+0336), which draws a horizontal line through the middle of the letter. Letter plus mark looks like one crossed-out letter, and because the line is part of the text, it survives copy and paste.

Other overlay marks give other looks:

• Slash, l̸i̸k̸e̸ t̸h̸i̸s̸, uses a long diagonal overlay. It feels more like "nope" than "edited".
• Wavy, l̴i̴k̴e̴ t̴h̴i̴s̴, uses a tilde overlay for a wobbly, unsure look.

The same idea, stacked many times, is how glitch text gets its messy look.

What about spaces? The line only appears where a mark is added. If a mark follows each space, the line runs across the gap. If not, each word is struck separately with small breaks between them. Check the live preview to see which result you are getting before you paste.

Strikethrough text examples

Discord and WhatsApp codes vs Unicode strikethrough

Some apps have their own formatting codes:

• Discord: ~~text~~ crosses out text in messages. More codes are on our Discord fonts page.
• WhatsApp: ~text~ crosses out text in chats. See WhatsApp fonts for the full list.

These codes are instructions for that one app. They usually work only in messages, and if you paste them into Instagram or TikTok you will just see the tildes. Unicode strikethrough is different: the line is built into the characters, so it shows in Instagram captions, TikTok comments, X posts, YouTube comments and even fields where codes do not work, like some profile names. Use the app's own code for everyday chat, and Unicode when you need it to work everywhere.

Crossed out letters and screen readers

The line is only visual, and that can flip your meaning for people using screen readers. Some read the struck word as normal text and ignore the marks. Others read "combining long stroke overlay" after every letter. Take the price example above: a listener may hear two prices with no clue which one is old.

For anything that matters, such as prices, dates or corrections, say it in plain words too: "Was ₹999, now ₹499." Keep the crossed-out joke for fun posts. The tool's readability badge marks styles like this one.

Why strikethrough sometimes looks wrong

• Broken or uneven lines. Each letter carries its own short stroke, so on some fonts the line looks dashed or sits at slightly different heights.
• Twice the characters. Every struck letter is two characters: the letter and the mark. So "Mondays" can count as 14 characters, not 7. Pick your app in the platform menu to see the real count.
• Stripped marks. Some name fields and games remove combining marks or reject them. Test before saving.

Want the line somewhere else? The underline text generator uses the same trick with a line underneath. For stronger emphasis without a line, use bold text.