Disabling Spell-Check and Grammar Markup in Microsoft Word

There are times—such as during specific writing assessments or spelling bees—when you may need to disable the automatic red and blue underlines in Microsoft Word. This guide explains how to turn off "as-you-type" proofing for your local version of Word.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Word: Launch the application and open any document (or create a new blank one).

2. Access Settings: Click the File tab in the top-left corner of the ribbon.

3. Open Options: At the bottom of the left-hand sidebar, select Options. (On smaller screens, you may need to click More... first to see Options).

4. Navigate to Proofing: In the Word Options window that pops up, select the Proofing section from the left-side menu.

5. Adjust Settings: Scroll down to the section titled "When correcting spelling and grammar in Word."

   • Uncheck the box: Check spelling as you type

   • Uncheck the box: Mark grammar errors as you type

6. Save Changes: Click OK at the bottom of the window to apply your settings.

Important Considerations for Staff

• Universal Setting: Please note that changing this setting affects all Word documents opened on that specific computer, not just the active document.

• Manual Checks: Even with these settings disabled, a user can still run a manual spell-check at any time by pressing F7 or navigating to the Review tab and selecting Check Document.

• Standardized Testing: If you are disabling these for a specific student assessment, remember to follow these same steps to re-check the boxes once the session is over to restore standard functionality for the next user.

Tech Tip: If you only want to hide spelling errors for one specific document (rather than the whole app), scroll to the bottom of the Proofing menu and check the boxes under "Exceptions for: [Document Name]." This is a great way to keep spell-check active for your own work while disabling it for a student's specific project.

Download this how-to as a PDF!