The word is not correctly spelled

1. Locate the ExcludeDictionary file

Exit all Office apps.

Using Windows/File Explorer (or whatever file manager you prefer), navigate to this file:

c:Users<username>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftUProofExcludeDictionaryEN0409.lex

Of course, <username> is your user name (in my video, it is Joe). The exact name of the file will vary depending on your language and Office version, but it will begin with ExcludeDictionary and have a LEX file extension.

2. Open the ExcludeDictionary file

Using Notepad (or whatever plain text editor you prefer), open the ExcludeDictionary file, which will be empty the first time you open it. If you do a File>Open, make sure that All Files is selected, since it is a LEX file, not a TXT file. Another technique is simply to drag-and-drop it from your file manager into your text editor.

3. Enter words in the ExcludeDictionary file

Enter the words that you want Office to consider NOT spelled correctly into the ExcludeDictionary file, each word on a separate line.

4. Save the modified ExcludeDictionary file and test

Save the modified ExcludeDictionary file.

Open Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, or whatever Office app you want to test, and type in the words that you entered in the ExcludeDictionary file. They should now be flagged as misspelled.

If you find this video to be helpful, please click the thumbs-up icon below. Thank you for watching!

Get your automatic editor back in action

Updated on April 20, 2022

While Word’s spell check works well most of the time, sometimes it can appear to stop operating. Some simple troubleshooting steps will quickly get Word’s spelling and grammar-checking tool back up and running. These solutions apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, Word 2010, and Word for Mac.

Causes of Word’s Spell Check Not Working

There are several reasons Word’s spelling and grammar-checking tool might not be working. You might have changed a simple setting, or the language settings may be off. Exceptions may have been placed on the document or the spell-check tool, or the Word template may have an issue.

Whatever the reason, some easy fixes are likely to have Word back to pointing out mistakes in your documents soon.

The spelling and grammar checker may return an error message about the default language or say «Spelling and grammar check is complete» without flagging any errors. You may not receive any message but may notice the tool isn’t functioning.

Add Grammarly to Word: Learn How Now

How to Fix Word’s Spell Checker Not Working

Follow these troubleshooting steps in the order we present, from the simplest solution to the most complex.

1. Make sure Word spell check is turned on, the most likely culprit and most straightforward solution. If you haven’t enabled automatic spell-checking, the tool won’t function as you expect. Also, select the Mark grammar errors as you type and Check grammar with spelling check boxes.

   On a Mac, select Word > Preferences > Spelling & Grammar, and select the Check spelling as you type and Check grammar as you type check boxes.

2. Check Word’s proofing language. Word may be set to the wrong proofing language, causing it to miss errors. Make sure Word is proofing in the correct language, and see if this solves the problem.

3. Check for proofing exceptions. A setting for Hide proofing errors, or other exceptions, may have been enabled in the document. The spell-check tool might not work as expected if a user has made exceptions for checking the spelling or grammar.

4. Open Word in Safe Mode. A Word add-in can interfere with the spelling and grammar-checking tool, causing it to work sporadically or not at all. If you start Word in Safe Mode, add-ins aren’t enabled. See if the spelling and grammar-checking tool works. If it does, move on to step 5.

5. Disable add-ins one at a time. An add-in might be the problem if the spelling and grammar-checking tool worked in Safe Mode. Disable add-ins one at a time to isolate the one causing the issue. When you find the culprit, permanently disable it.

6. Rename the default template. If the issue still isn’t resolved, there could be something wrong with Word’s global template, which is called normal.dotm. Renaming the template could fix the problem. Word will generate a new default document without any customizations.

   When you rename the normal.dotm template, you lose the default settings you established, including styles, toolbars, AutoText entries, and macros.

7. Repair Word. If all your efforts haven’t resolved the spell-check problem, use the built-in Office Repair utility to fix Word. This tool repairs the entire Office suite even if there’s only one application you want to fix.

   This tool is only available for Windows versions of Office.

8. Contact Microsoft Word. If you still can’t fix the problem with Word’s spelling and grammar-checking tool not working, visit the Microsoft Word help page. With a searchable knowledge base, community forums, and contact information, you’ll find additional help.

FAQ

• Why is Grammarly not working in Word?

  If Grammarly in Word isn’t working, you may be working in a password-protected document, you may have opened the document in Protected View, or the document is stored on a network. To solve the problem, save your document to a local drive and open it from there.

• How do I turn off spell check in Word?

  To turn off spell check in Word on a PC, go to File > Options > Proofing. Uncheck the box next to Check spelling as you type. On a Mac, go to Tools > Spelling & Grammar and select Hide Spelling Errors.

• How do I reset spell check in Word?

  To reset Word’s spell check on a PC, go to the Tools menu and select Spelling & Grammar > Options. In the Proofing Tools section, select Recheck Document. On a Mac, go to Tools > Spelling & Grammar and select Reset Ignored Words and Grammar.

Thanks for letting us know!

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Have you ever had one of those days where you’re finishing an important document, but the spell check in Microsoft Word isn’t working correctly? Sometimes you can’t check one document, and other times you can’t spell-check any document. And sometimes, it’s several words. In this troubleshooting tutorial, I’ll show several fixes.

I’ve encountered this annoyance many times. Usually, I can solve the issue with the steps below unless it’s a protected Microsoft Word document. However, one reason you want to correct this issue is that it may interfere with calculating your Word readability statistics.

Spell Check Not Working – (1 Document)

Sometimes Word’s spell check will only work for one document. However, you can open other Microsoft Word documents, and spell check works. The problem is probably with the preferred languages or formatting settings.

Verify Your Language & Check Spelling Options

1. Open the problem document.
2. Press the Ctrl + A keys to select the entire text.
3. From the Review tab, select Language then Set Proofing Language…
4. In the Language dialog box make sure the correct default language is selected.
5. Verify the checkbox Do not check spelling or grammar is unchecked.

1. Click OK.
2. Recheck your document

I wish the above method were foolproof. Highlighting the entire document would overwrite all paragraph settings throughout. On older versions of Microsoft Word, I would get the following message as shown below. However, in Microsoft 365, I no longer get this alert even if I have spelling errors.

This alert message suggests that your document has a section marked “Do not check spelling or grammar.” Unfortunately, I don’t know any easy way to find these marks. So instead, I find a paragraph with a spelling mistake, highlight it, and press Shift + F1.

This opens the Reveal Formatting pane, where you can verify that your correct language is what you expect and if the paragraph has spell check turned off. In the example below, the highlighted paragraph is coded not to check for spelling.

Tip: If you don’t see the pane, you may have some sort of Function lock on your keyboard. Generally, these keyboards have an F Lock key on the top row because there are other functions mapped. Other keyboards may use an Fn key.

In the above example, I misspelled the word “government”. Word did not flag this instance because the paragraph was marked not to do spelling or grammar checks.

To fix the issue, highlight your paragraph and click the Language link in the Reveal Formatting dialog. This will open the Language dialog box, and you can deselect the check spelling or grammar option checkbox.

Are Multiple Proofing Languages Set

Looking at the screen print above, you’ll notice that I have three proofing languages above the double line. They are variations of English for Australia, Canada, United States. Word can get confused if you don’t enable “Detect language automatically“.

According to this support page, Microsoft noted several suggestions:

• Automatic language detection requires that a sentence of text be written in that language. Depending on the length of your sentences, you might need to type several sentences before Word has enough contextual information to automatically detect the language and apply the correct dictionary.
• Words that are spelled the same way in several languages, such as “centre” in English (United Kingdom) and French (France) might cause the Detect language automatically check box to incorrectly identify the language of text. To solve this problem, type more words in the language you want, or clear the Detect language automatically check box.

Review Your Proofing Exception Options

You should check another setting, as there is a Word option where you can elect to hide spelling errors. You can set this option on an individual file.

1. Click the File tab.
2. From the left panel, select Options.
3. In the Word Options dialog, click Proofing.
4. Scroll to the bottom area called Exceptions for:
5. Check to see if the Hide spelling errors in this document only check box is enabled.

Spell Check Not Working – (All Documents)

This second problem can be a real annoyance with many variations. The suggestions range from easy to a Microsoft Windows registry change.

Option 1: Verify the “check spelling as you type” Feature

This feature is an option to see your mistakes as they happen. In some cases, I’ve seen toggling this check box “on” and “off” fix the problem. Additionally, those red squiggly underlines might be from the Word Exclusion Dictionary.

To verify Spelling and Grammar Checkers are on,

1. Click the File tab.
2. From the left menu, select Options at the bottom.
3. In the Word Options dialog, click Proofing.
4. Check the boxes for Check spelling as you type and Mark grammar errors as you type. (See picture above.)
5. Click OK.

Note: For older versions of Word, use the Check Document feature on your Review tab.

Option 2: Check for Conflicting Word Add-in

Still, your problem may be caused by a combination of factors such as another Word add-in. The way to verify this is to see if the spellchecker works in “safe mode”. Safe Mode is a reduced functionality state where Microsoft Word loads without add-ins.

1. Hold down your Ctrl key and then press the icon or menu option for Microsoft Word.
2. Click Yes when the Safe Mode dialog appears.

1. Open up your document.
2. Press F7 to run spell-check.

If the spellchecker works, you need to figure out which add-in is causing the problem. There are two areas where you may see these.

The first is from the Insert tab.

If you click My Add-ins, you will see your installed items. If you hover over an item, a 3-dot menu will appear where you can remove the item.

Additionally, you can access this area from the Word Options dialog box under Add-ins. Hopefully, you recognize an add-in name such as Grammarly. Then you can press the Go button.

You’ll then get a COM Add-ins dialog where you can uncheck the box so it won’t load or remove it. 

I’d suggest closing Word and reopening your document before checking again.

Option 3: Rename Your Word Template

Your Microsoft Word document template, which is either normal.dot or normal.dotm, might also be causing an issue. You can find these files in your Microsoft Templates folder. When you rename the template, Word will reset to the default settings.

Because your global template file has your settings, I would recommend renaming the file to something like normalPRV.dot or normalPRV.dotm so you can change the name if this suggestion doesn’t work.

Tip: If you need to confirm the location of your template you can press your Windows key + r. This will open the Run dialog, where you can copy and paste the command below.

%appdata%MicrosoftTemplates

Option 4: Try Detect and Repair

Now and then, I have the spell-check feature go wonky after some other software update or hardware change. For example, a registry entry has become corrupted. In these rare cases, you may have to repair your installation.

Option 5: Rename a Windows Registry Folder

I don’t like giving instructions on using the Windows registry. But sometimes, this online repair works. If you’re unfamiliar with this area, I strongly recommend reading Microsoft’s https://docs.microsoft.com/en-US/troubleshoot/windows-server/performance/windows-registry-advanced-users.

As with an earlier suggestion, I rename the folder rather than deleting it. Some people rely on third-party dictionaries that may use some of these entries. If you find after renaming the folder, your 3rd party dictionary doesn’t work; you can revert the changes.

To rename the Proofing Tools folder,

1. Close Word.
2. Press the Windows key + R.
3. In the Run dialog box type regedit.
4. Click the OK button.
5. Expand the left pane to HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Software | Microsoft | Shared Tools| Proofing Tools
6. Right-click the folder named 1.0
7. Select Rename from the menu.

1. Rename folder to 1PRV.0
2. Close regedit.
3. Restart Microsoft Word.

Specific Word Isn’t Flagged as Misspelled

Sometimes, you’ve run through the steps above and Word still doesn’t flag an item that is misspelled. This can be frustrating, but sometimes the problem is us. Yes, I have misspelled words when adding them to Word’s custom spell check dictionary. That’s why I also created an exclude dictionary for Word.

Check Your Custom Dictionary

1. Click the File tab.
2. From the left menu, select Options at the bottom.
3. In the Word Options dialog, click Proofing.
4. Scroll down to When correcting spelling in Microsoft Office program section.
5. Click the Custom Dictionaries… button.
6. Click the Edit Word List… button.

1. Find your misspelled word and delete it.
2. Add correct variation if needed.
3. Click OK.

Try Another Online Option & Then Fix

This isn’t a fix for the problem, but it buys you time if you’ve got a deliverable. In the interim, you can save your document and try to open or copy it to another online word processor such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word Online. You will need to have an online account. Once you’ve imported your document, use that system’s spell-checker.

Hopefully, these solutions helped you isolate why spell-check wasn’t working. Now, you can continue to write your great novel, business proposal, letter, or tutorial.

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• Video: How to Make a Letterhead in Word

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Introduction

Worried about making mistakes when you type? Don’t be. Word provides you with several proofing features—including the Spelling and Grammar tool—that can help you produce professional, error-free documents.

Optional: Download our practice document.

Watch the video below to learn more about using the Spelling and Grammar tool.

To run a Spelling and Grammar check:

1. From the Review tab, click the Spelling & Grammar command.

   

2. The Spelling and Grammar pane will appear on the right. For each error in your document, Word will try to offer one or more suggestions. You can select a suggestion and click Change to correct the error.

   

3. Word will move through each error until you have reviewed all of them. After the last error has been reviewed, a dialog box will appear confirming that the spelling and grammar check is complete. Click OK.

   

If no suggestions are given, you can manually type the correct spelling in your document.

Ignoring «errors»

The spelling and grammar check is not always correct. Particularly with grammar, there are many errors Word will not notice. There are also times when the spelling and grammar check will say something is an error when it’s actually not. This often happens with names and other proper nouns, which may not be in the dictionary.

If Word says something is an error, you can choose not to change it. Depending on whether it’s a spelling or grammatical error, you can choose from several options.

For spelling «errors»:

• Ignore: This will skip the word without changing it.
• Ignore All: This will skip the word without changing it, and it will also skip all other instances of the word in the document.
• Add: This adds the word to the dictionary so it will never come up as an error. Make sure the word is spelled correctly before choosing this option.

For grammar «errors»:

• Ignore: This will skip the word or phrase without changing it.

For some grammatical errors, Word will provide an explanation for why it thinks something is incorrect. This can help you determine whether you want to change or ignore it.

Automatic spelling and grammar checking

By default, Word automatically checks your document for spelling and grammar errors, so you may not even need to run a separate check. These errors are indicated by colored wavy lines.

• The red line indicates a misspelled word.
• The blue line indicates a grammatical error, including misused words.

  

A misused word—also known as a contextual spelling error—occurs when a word is spelled correctly but used incorrectly. For example, if you used the phrase Deer Mr. Theodore at the beginning of a letter, deer would be a contextual spelling error. Deer is spelled correctly, but it is used incorrectly in the letter. The correct word is Dear.

To correct spelling errors:

1. Right-click the underlined word, then select the correct spelling from the list of suggestions.

   

2. The corrected word will appear in the document.

You can also choose to Ignore All instances of an underlined word or add it to the dictionary.

To correct grammar errors:

1. Right-click the underlined word or phrase, then select the correct spelling or phrase from the list of suggestions.

   

2. The corrected phrase will appear in the document.

To change the automatic spelling and grammar check settings:

1. Click the File tab to access Backstage view, then click Options.

   

2. A dialog box will appear. On the left side of the dialog box, select Proofing. From here, you have several options to choose from. For example, if you don’t want Word to mark spelling errors, grammar errors, or frequently confused words automatically, simply uncheck the desired option.

   

If you’ve turned off the automatic spelling and/or grammar checks, you can still go to the Review tab and click the Spelling & Grammar command to run a new check.

To hide spelling and grammar errors in a document:

If you’re sharing a document like a resume with someone, you might not want that person to see the red and blue lines. Turning off the automatic spelling and grammar checks only applies to your computer, so the lines may still show up when someone else views your document. Fortunately, Word allows you to hide spelling and grammar errors so the lines will not show up on any computer.

1. Click the File tab to go to Backstage view, then click Options.
2. A dialog box will appear. Select Proofing, then check the box next to Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide grammar errors in this document only, then click OK.

   

3. The lines in the document will be hidden.

Challenge!

1. Open our practice document. If you already downloaded our practice document in order to follow along with the lesson, be sure to download a fresh copy by clicking the link in this step.
2. Run a Spelling & Grammar check.
3. Ignore the spelling of names like Marcom.
4. Correct all other spelling and grammar mistakes.
5. When you’re finished, your document should look like this:

   

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Outlook has two tools to help you check your spelling: AutoCorrect and the spelling checker.

To use AutoCorrect, all you have to do is make a common spelling error, like switching the letters in customer.

When you press the Spacebar, Outlook automatically corrects the spelling.

Type two initial capital letters, and AutoCorrect makes the second letter lower case.

AutoCorrect can be very useful for quickly correcting common typing mistakes, but it doesn’t catch everything.

When you misspell a word that isn’t in the AutoCorrect list, then the Spelling Checker kicks in.

By default, the Spelling Checker indicates a misspelled word with a red, squiggly underline.

To fix the mistake, you can retype the word manually.

But an easier way is to let the Spelling Checker suggest a correct spelling.

And you have two ways to do that: correct the spelling immediately, or wait until you have finished typing.

To correct spelling immediately, right-click the misspelled word, then choose one of the suggested words; click Ignore All if you want the Spelling Checker to recognize the word as correctly spelled in the message; or you can add the word to the dictionary, so the Spelling Checker will always recognize it as a correctly-spelled word.

By the way, a blue squiggly line under a word points to a potential usage error.

The word may be spelled correctly, but it’s not used the right way.

Now if you are the type of writer who doesn’t want to deal with misspelled words while you are typing, then you can spell-check your message when you are finished.

First, click in the message to make sure nothing is selected.

Click the REVIEW tab and Spelling & Grammar.

The Spelling Checker scans the message from the beginning and looks for misspellings.

When it finds one, this dialog box shows the word in red and offers suggestions in this list below.

Click the one you want and then, choose one of the buttons on the lower-right.

Click Changeto change the word to the one you selected; click Change All to change all the words that are similarly misspelled, or if you make the same spelling error often, you can click AutoCorrect to add it to the AutoCorrect list.

So in the future it will automatically correct as you type.

If you don’t find a suggestion you like, you can retype the word manually, up here.

You can also Ignore this particular misspelling, Ignore All similar misspellings, or add the misspelled word to the dictionary.

By the way, you can also check grammar as you type by clicking the Check Grammar box.

So that’s how AutoCorrect and the Spelling Checker work, by default.

But you can change how they work and what they check for, if you want.

Click the FILE tab and Options.

Click Mail and Spelling and AutoCorrect. Down here, you have options for the Spelling Checker.

For example, you can uncheck Check Spelling as you type, if you don’t want to see the red squiggly lines under misspelled words.

Click AutoCorrect Options to change what Outlook corrects automatically.

For example, if you don’t want Outlook to correct two initial capital letters, you can uncheck the Correct Two Initial Capitals option.

Down here, you can view and change the words Outlook looks for and corrects.

For example, if you type «accidant» with an «a», Outlook changes it to an «e».

You can change or add a word to replace or delete an item in the list.

Or you can uncheck Replace text as you type to turn it off.

Now, you have the basics of the Spelling Checker and AutoCorrect.

If you want to do more with these features, check out the links in the course summary at the end of this course.

Up next, we’ll cover one more part of the Spelling Checker, how to change the language the Spelling Checker uses.