Word does not check grammar

Microsoft Editor runs in Word for Microsoft 365 to analyze your document and offer suggestions for spelling, grammar, and stylistic issues, like making sentences more concise, choosing simpler words, or writing with more formality.

To use Editor, on the Home tab choose Editor.

Choose Editor on the Home tab or press F7 to open the Editor pane.

Reviewing suggestions

To focus on the issues you care most about, choose a correction or refinement type, like Grammar or Clarity. Then, use the arrows near the top of the pane to step through each of that type of issue.

Move directly from one issue to the next at the top of the Editor pane.

Choose a suggestion to incorporate it into your document. If you don’t like the suggestion, choose Ignore Once. Or, if you never want this type of suggestion, choose Don’t check for this issue.

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Choose a suggestion to incorporate it into your document.

Note: If you change your mind about an issue you ignored, close and reopen the document, and go back to Editor. Editor will find the issue again.

Tailor what Editor checks for 

By default, Editor checks for several categories of issues, and the suggestions may or may not suit your writing style. To finely tune Editor for suggestions you want, do the following:

  1. In the Editor pane, choose Settings.
    In the Editor pane, choose Settings.

  2. In the Word Options dialog box, next to Grammar & Refinements, choose Settings.
    In the Word Options dialog box, next to Grammar & Refinements, choose Settings

  3. Scroll through the list of options. Select issues you want Editor to check, and clear the issues you want Editor to ignore.

    Note: Choosing Reset All returns to the default settings.

  4. Choose OK.

Tip: Editor is designed to empower you to bring out the best in your writing. We are continually making updates to its suggestions and experimenting to learn which suggestions are most welcome. If you have feedback for us, choose Help Improve Office? at the top of the Word window to open the Feedback pane.
Choose the Help Improve Office? icon at the top of the Word window to open the Feedback pane.

You might notice Editor’s red, blue, and purple underlines in your document even when the Editor pane is closed. That’s because Editor is always running in the background, checking for spelling, grammar, and some style issues.

Right-click the underlined text to see the suggestion. Use context menu to:

  • Listen to the suggestion by clicking the arrow next to the suggestion and then choosing Read Aloud.

  • Skip this instance of the issue by choosing Ignore Once.

  • Tell Editor to stop checking for this issue by choosing Don’t check for this issue.

  • Fine tune the settings for this type of issue by choosing the Options link.

  • Get more information about the issue by choosing See More.

The Editor context menu gives you several options for the current suggestion.

Your document might be written in more than one language, or you might want to switch to another language for Editor to check. If you are set up to use multiple authoring languages (File > Options > Language), Word detects the language you’re writing in, and Editor will check for issues in that language.

However, you might be writing in a language that Word doesn’t detect automatically. In that case, you can get Editor to check text in that language by selecting the text and going to Review Language Set Proofing Language, and then choose your language.

Choose Set Proofing Language from the Language menu on the Review tab.

When Editor is checking more than one language, the Editor pane lists corrections and refinements for each language in the document. 

Corrections and refinements are listed per language in the Editor pane.

For information about the issues that Editor checks in various languages, see Editor’s spelling, grammar, and refinement availability by language.

When you work on documents in Word on the web, Editor provides a rich set of features that are coming soon to Word for Windows. Even when you’re not using Word, the Editor browser extension helps you with writing on websites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Gmail.

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Word marks spelling, grammar, and stylistic issues with an underline. Right-click the underlined word, and then choose the suggestion you want, or learn more about the error and how to correct it.

Or, open the Editor pane to address issues by category.

  1. On the Review tab, select Check Document.

    Showing Check Document under Review tab

  2. The Editor pane categorizes spelling, grammar, and stylistic issues.

    Showing Overview of proofing issues

  3. Click each category to address the issues.

    Note: For keyboard shortcuts in the Editor pane, there’s no need to press Alt. Just use the underlined letter to select the command (like i for Ignore Once, g for Ignore All, etc) .

  1. In the Editor pane, click Settings.

  2. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, select Settings

  3. For Writing Style, select Grammar & Refinements .

  4. Scroll down to see all of the options available, and select or clear the rules you want. The settings apply to all the documents that you edit, not just the current one.

Requirements and availability of the Editor pane include the following:

  • Internet connection: Make sure your connection is working.

  • Intelligent Services switched on: Go to File > Options > General and turn on Office Intelligence Services.

  • Language availability: For information about the issues that Word checks for in various languages, see Editor’s spelling, grammar, and refinement availability by language.

Word marks spelling, grammar, and stylistic issues with an underline. Control-click the word or phrase and choose one of the options.

If Word incorrectly underlined a word as misspelled and you want to add that word to your dictionary so that Word will properly recognize it in the future, see Add or edit words in a spell check dictionary. 

If spelling or grammatical errors aren’t underlined, you might need to turn on automatic spelling and grammar checking, as follows. 

Turn on (or off) automatic spelling and grammar checking

  1. On the Word menu, click Preferences > Spelling & Grammar.

  2. In the Spelling & Grammar dialog box, under Spelling, check or clear the Check spelling as you type box.

  3. Under Grammar, check or clear the Check grammar as you type box.

  4. Close the dialog box to save your changes.

  1. On the Review tab, click Spelling & Grammar.

  2. Word displays the issues it finds in the Spelling & Grammar dialog box.

  3. To address an issue, do one of the following:

    • Type the correction in the box and then click Change.

    • Under Suggestions, click the word you want to use, and then click Change.

    To skip the error, do one of the following:

    • Click Ignore Once to skip only that instance of the error.

    • Click Ignore All to skip all instances of the error.

    • For a grammatical error, click Next Sentence to skip that instance of the error and move to the next error.

    To skip a misspelled word in all documents, click Add to add it to the dictionary. This only works for spelling. You can’t add custom grammar to the dictionary.

  4. After you correct, ignore, or skip an issue, Word moves to the next one. When Word finishes reviewing the document, you’ll see a message that the spelling and grammar check is complete.

  5. Click OK to return to your document.

You can clear or reset the list of Ignored Words and Grammar so Word will check for spelling and grammar issues you previously told it to ignore.

Note: When you reset the list of Ignored Words and Grammar, the list is cleared only for the currently open document. Any spelling or grammar issues you told Word to ignore in other documents won’t be affected.

  1. Open the document that needs to be checked.

  2. On the Tools menu, point to Spelling and Grammar, and then click Reset Ignored Words and Grammar.

    To clear the lists of words and grammar that Word ignores, click Reset Ignored Words and Grammar.

    Word displays a warning about the operation resetting the spelling checker and the grammar checker.

    Cause Word to check for spelling and grammar that you told Word to ignore earlier by clicking Yes.

  3. Click Yes to proceed.

  4. Click the Review tab, and then click Spelling & Grammar to check spelling and grammar.

Word marks potential spelling errors with a red squiggly line, and potential grammatical errors are marked with a blue squiggly line.

Right-click on the underlined word or phrase and choose a correction, or ignore the suggestion.

Note: If Word is flagging words as misspelled but you have it spelled the way you want it, select Add to Dictionary to teach Word not to flag that word as misspelled in the future. For more information on this see: Add or edit words in a spell check dictionary.

If you don’t want Office to mark potential errors with squiggly lines while you are working, you can turn automatic spelling and grammar checking off:

  1. On the File menu, click Options, and then click Proofing.

  2. Select or clear the Check spelling as you type and Mark grammar errors as you type check boxes.

    The Check Spelling As You Type check box

    Note: You can turn the spelling checker on or off for the document you’re working with or for all new documents. Select an option in the Exceptions for list, and then select or clear the Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide grammar errors in this document only check boxes.

If you don’t want Word to check grammar at all (either when running a spell check or automatically as you type), you can turn it off:

  1. On the File menu, click Options, and then click Proofing.

  2. Clear the Mark grammar errors as you type and Check grammar with spelling check boxes.

    Grammar check boxes

  1. On the File menu, click Options > Proofing> Recheck Document.

  2. Click Yes when you see the warning message about resetting the spelling and grammar checker.

  3. Click OK in the dialog box to get back to the document, and then run the spelling and grammar checker again.

See also

For more information about Microsoft Editor, see Microsoft Editor checks grammar and more in documents, mail, and the web.

For more topics on spelling and grammar, see Spelling and grammar in Word.

To try Microsoft Editor for yourself, download the Editor in Word Tutorial.

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.

Do not spell check option in Language dialog box.

Checkbox to disable spellcheck
  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.

Word spell check message about skipped marked text.

Word alert about skipped spell and grammar check

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.

Section showing Do not check spelling.

Reveal Formatting Panel with Do not check spelling or grammar

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.

Language dialog box with Do not check spelling enabled.

Spell Check options on Language and Formatting Panel

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.

Proofing options dialog with hide errors checked.

Hide spelling errors enabled for document

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.

info icon 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.

Alert asking if you want Word in Safe mode.

Alert for Safe Mode
  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.

Add-ins group on Word ribbon.

Add-ins section

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.

My installed Office add-ins.

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.

Word Options dialog with Grammarly highlighted.

Highlighted Add-in

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

COM Add-ins dialog with Grammarly checked.

COM Add-ins showing Grammarly

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 Windows key icon. + r. This will open the Run dialog, where you can copy and paste the command below.

%appdata%MicrosoftTemplates

Run dialog with command to find files.

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.

Windows registry editor and Proofing folder.

Renaming Windows Registry folder
  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.

Editing words in Custom Dictionary.

Look for misspellings in the custom dictionary
  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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Microsoft Word is a very useful software when it comes to writing long paragraphs with styling. Almost every writer uses Word on his/her computer. People use Microsoft Word over Notepad because – apart from the formatting options – it can detect spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and sentence formations. However, if your Grammar and Spell Checking is not working in Microsoft Word, then this post will show you how to fix the problem

The reason for this problem could be many. For instance, if you have added more than one language in the system, you can get this problem. On Windows 11/10, if you have changed the language to use Cortana, you can get this issue with Microsoft Word. The feature can be disabled automatically. Therefore, if you are facing the same issue and want to solve the problem, carry out the following steps.

1] Open Microsoft Word. You will see the language at the bottom. It can be English (India), English (US), etc. Click on that language button.

microsoft-word-is-not-detecting-spelling-and-grammar-mistakes-2

If you have added two languages, you will get a popup like this:

Spell Check not working in Word

Now, select a language that you want to write in and make sure that the following options are unchecked:

  • Do not check spelling or grammar
  • Detect language automatically

Remove the tick mark from both of the boxes. If you do not remove the tick from “Detect language automatically”, the same error will appear when you open the Word for the second time. Now, hit the Set As Default button and click on the affirmative option.

2] If you still face the same problem, you can do the following.

Open Word and click on File. Now, go to Options > Proofing.

Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, you can find a few options like “Check spelling as you type,” “Check grammar with spelling” and more others. Make sure that all of these are checked.

3] This can also happen if the Proofing Tools are not installed for the default language. You may need to install them. You can do this via Control Panel, Uninstall a Program applet. Select Microsoft Office > Change > Add or remove features > Expand Office Shared Features > Proofing Tools.

4] Ensure that the Speller add-in is disabled. If you use English (US) then the add-in would be Speller EN-US. You can do this here – Click File tab > Options > Add-ins.

Restart your computer and check. Your Microsoft Word software should be able to detect spelling and grammar mistakes.

How do I enable grammar check in Word?

In the latest version of Microsoft Word in Microsoft 365, you need to use the Editor panel to enable grammar check. It checks for spelling, grammar, clarity, formality, etc., at once in Word. Whether you have a small piece of document or a school and college project, you can use the Editor to check for grammar in Word. Alternatively, you can enable it from File > Options > Proofing.

How do you reset spelling and grammar check in Word?

As of now, there is no option to reset spelling and grammar checks in Word. Most of all, you do not need to reset this setting since it just searches for potential mistakes and notifies you on the go. However, if you want to turn on or off grammar and spelling check, you need to go to File > Options > Proofing. Then, check the Check spelling as you type and mark grammar errors as you type checkboxes.

That’s all! Hope this guide helped.

Ezoic

When he is not writing about Microsoft Windows or Office, Sudip likes to work with Photoshop. He has managed the front end and back end of many websites over the years. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree.

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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Microsoft Word is an indisputable leader among text processing applications. Whether you are using Windows or Mac, Microsoft 365 is an essential package for creating documents. However, Word can create some problems that can easily annoy you. Spelling and grammar checker not working issue is one of the problems many users face when using Microsoft Word. In this article, let us explain how to fox this issue and write error free content like a pro.

Earlier Word versions used to check two things – one is spelling and other is grammar. Word used to underline spelling errors with red wavy line and grammar errors with green wavy line. However, the new AI powered Editor interface has slew of checks like clarity, conciseness, formality, etc. including similarly checker in addition to spelling and grammar checks.

Spelling and Grammar Check Editor
Spelling and Grammar Check Editor in Microsoft 365 Word

However, sometimes Word will not highlight the spelling / grammar checks making you crazy. You will not find any red or green lines even though the document has misspelled words and the Editor will also show you 100% perfect without detecting the errors.

Spelling Errors Not Showing in Word
Spelling Errors Not Showing in Word

Here are some of the suggestions that you can try to fix the spelling and grammar checker in Microsoft Word.

Fix Spelling and Grammar Checker in Word

Let us explain the available options primarily for Microsoft 365 for Windows. We have mentioned the applicable cases for Mac version since features like repairing Word are only available for Windows.

1. Check Dictionary Language

Proofing tools in Word uses the language set in the dictionary for checking errors. If the document language is different than your dictionary language, you will see all the words are underlined with red or green wavy line. You can simply check the status bar in Word to confirm the language. Click on the language in status bar to change to English or the document’s language to remove all the red/green underlines.

Check Language and Spell Check Option
Check Language and Spell Check Option

In addition, make sure the option “Do not check spelling or grammar” is not checked. Otherwise, Word will ignore the spelling and grammar errors leading to confusion that you might think it is not working. If the document language is not installed, Word will suggest installing the proofing language for checking spelling and grammar. You can opt to download and install the required language pack for proofing.

Different Proofing Language
Different Proofing Language

Good part is that this dictionary language check from the status bar option is available in Word app comes with Microsoft 365 subscription in Mac also.

Language Check in Word Mac
Language Check in Word Mac

2. Check Proofing Options

Word by default will check your document in the background while you type and suggest the spelling and grammar errors. If you have changed the default behavior, it will result in not showing any red or green lines while you type. In Windows, open “Word Options” dialog box  by going to “File > Options” menu in Word app. When you are in “Word Options”, go to “Proofing” section and check the followings:

Word Proofing Options
Word Proofing Options
  • Auto Correction – if Word is not capitalizing the first word and correct other suggestions automatically, then click on “AutoCorrect Options…” button. Check your settings and make sure everything is fine as per your need.
  • Spelling Correction – by default Word ignores the words in capital, containing numbers and mark repeat words. You can check these options are set correctly in this section.
  • Spelling and grammar checking – this is the main section that you might have changed. Make sure to enable “Check spelling as you type” and “Make grammar errors as you type” options. This will enable Word to show red and green underlines instantly after you type the words.
  • Exceptions – under this section make sure the options “Hide spelling errors in this document only” and “Hide grammar errors in this document only” options. Ensure to check this especially when you have received the document from someone else. The author of the document might have set these options mistakenly or for different purposes.
Proofing Exceptions in Word
Proofing Exceptions in Word

In addition, check the proofing language under “Language” tab from the sidebar and make sure you have the required language installed for doing spelling and grammar check.

Proofing Language in Word
Proofing Language in Word

In Mac, you can check these settings under “Spelling & Grammar” section by going to “Word > Preferences…” menu.

Spelling Grammar Checker Preferences in Word Mac
Spelling Grammar Checker Preferences in Word Mac

Note: Changing settings may affect other Office applications like Outlook. Therefore, make sure to change the options with care.

3. Disable Add-ins

There are large number third-party add-ins available for Word Windows version. These add-ins can easily create problems with the default spelling and grammar checker. When you are in “Word Options” section, go to “Add-ins” tab. Select the type of add-ins from “Manage” dropdown box and click “Go…” button. Simply, disable the add-ins by unchecking the box. Now, check the problem is fixed and spelling checker is working. If yes, you can enable the add-ins one by one to find the actual one causing the problem.

Disable Word Add-ins
Disable Word Add-ins

4. Check in Safe Mode

Though the above method works to find the problematic add-in, it may take long time. The alternate option is to open Word in a safe mode which will automatically disable all installed add-ins.

  • Press “Win + R” to open Run command prompt.
  • Type winword / safe and press “OK” button.
  • This will open Word in Safe mode and check the spelling checker is working.
Open Word in Safe Mode
Open Word in Safe Mode

If it is working, you can follow the above explained method to find and disable the add-in that causes the problem.

5. Repair Microsoft Word

If none of the above methods work and you also feel Word is not working properly on your computer, then you can use repair option to fix all problems in your installation. However, if you have Microsoft 365 subscription, this will repair the entire Office installation that includes other Office apps.

  • Press “Win + I” keys to open Windows Settings app.
  • Go to “Apps” section and click on “Apps & features” tab.
  • Here you will find all installed apps in your computer. Search for 365 or Word to find the Office installation.
  • Click on the three dots vertical icon and select “Modify” option.
Modify Office Installation
Modify Office Installation
  • This will open Office Repair wizard. First select “Quick Check” and click on the “Repair” button to start repairing the installation. If this did not fix the issue, then try “Online Repair” and follow the instructions to repair your Office applications.
Repair Office Program
Repair Office Program

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