Word not correcting spelling mistakes

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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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.

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Are you having trouble getting Microsoft Word to check your spelling? You can fix it easily by following these steps.

Microsoft Word features built-in spell-checking, so you don’t have to worry about pressing the wrong key or checking the spelling of any word you write. However, sometimes the integration does not work as expected.

There are several ways to fix Word’s spell checker, and we will go through each of them below.

1. Try Microsoft Office Online

If you are in a rush and want to quickly spell check your document, you can use Microsoft Office online as long as you have subscribed to a Microsoft 365 plan. Upload the same Word document and check if the web app’s spell checker works.

2. Repair the App

Repairing the app installed on your device might be enough to fix your issue. Here is how you can do it:

1. Right-click the Start button and select Settings. Also, you can use the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut.
2. Head to Apps > Apps & features.
3. Select the Microsoft Office app and click Modify.
4. From the pop-up window, select Quick Repair. If this doesn’t fix the problem, go through the previous steps and try Online Repair.
5. Test if spell check is now working.

3. Check Proofing Settings

If Word’s spell check seems to be working randomly across your docs, you should take a look at proofing exceptions. There’s a chance the documents you want to edit are part of the exception list, so Word doesn’t look for spelling mistakes.

If this is the case, follow these steps to fix the problem:

1. Open the Word doc you want to edit.
2. Go to File > Options.
3. From the left pane menu, select Proofing.
4. Scroll down to the Exceptions for sections.
5. Uncheck Hide spelling errors in this document only.

Note: If the Hide spelling errors in this document-only option is unchecked and greyed out, you need to enable the Check spelling as you type option.

4. Turn On Check Spelling as You Type

You need to turn on this feature so Word will spell check your document in real-time and use the red line to signal you any misspelled words. Here is how you can do it:

1. Open File.
2. Click Options > Proofing.
3. Head to When correcting spelling and grammar in Word.
4. Check the box next to Check spelling as you type.

Also, you should take a look at the When correcting spelling in Microsoft Office programs section and uncheck Ignore words in UPPERCASE to make sure Word spell checks your document thoroughly.

5. Check Language Settings

While you could be writing in English, Word might be feeling a bit French, and check your spelling for French words. This could happen if you accidentally removed English from the list or if you changed the proofing language.

Follow these steps to make Word speak the same language as you:

1. Open the File menu and head to Options.
2. Select Language.
3. Select your preferred language and click Set as Preferred.
4. If your language is not available, click Add a language and select it from the list.

6. Turn Off Word Add-Ins

Word’s spell checker could stop working because an add-in is creating conflict or because it’s malfunctioning. You can disable all add-ins and re-enable them one by one to identify which one is causing the issue.

Follow these steps to disable the add-ins:

1. Click File > Options.
2. From the left-hand menu, select Add-ins.
3. At the bottom of the window, make sure Manage is set to Com Add-ins and click Go….
4. Uncheck which add-in you want to disable or click Remove to uninstall it.

7. Check Document Style Settings

If you set Word’s Styles the wrong way, they might interfere with the spell checker. Here is how you change the settings:

1. Right-click the current style and select Modify.
2. Click Format > Language.
3. Select your preferred language from the list.
4. Make sure Do not check spelling or grammar is not selected.

8. How to Stop Word From Correcting Your Name

How many times did Word mark your name as a spelling error? You can fix this by adding your name to Word’s dictionary and having Word tell you when you actually misspelled it. Here is how you can add a new word to Word’s built-in dictionary:

1. Write your name or any other word that Word may identify as a spelling error.
2. Select the word and right-click it.
3. Click Add to dictionary.

Write Without Mistakes

The solutions we have put together in this article work for multiple Microsoft Office versions, so you don’t have to worry about using an older version.

While this is a quick fix, it will boost your productivity and make you work confidently as your document gets spell-checked in real-time. If you feel the built-in spell checker is not enough, you can use a third-party app to check your writing.

Spell Checker does not recognize misspelled words in Word or Word spell check not working? Here’s how to fix Spell Check not working in Word 2016 / 2013 / 2010.

If you are a writer or a blogger then you might be using Microsoft Word a lot as it is one of the best editing tools which you can use to pen down long articles or notes. You get a lot of amazing features in this graphical word processing program as it is a complete package. Its easy customization options allow us to customize the articles by creating new paragraphs, using stylish fonts, changing text colors and much more.

If you are familiar with all the basic features of MS Word then you might be also familiar with its “Grammar Check” and “Spell Check” features. Spelling and Grammar check features are available in almost all the versions of Microsoft Word (Word 2010 / 2013 / 2016) and it is really a great way to ensure that your word document is free of errors.

Basically, Microsoft Word’s built-in Grammar and Spell Check feature help you in avoiding embarrassing mistakes (spelling mistakes and grammatical mistakes) while writing something important in Word document. These tools are enabled by default and work automatically most of the time whenever you write something in MS files.

As we all know, all Microsoft Word versions can check the spelling and grammatical mistakes of your files as you type. However, many users have reported that Grammar and Spell Check not working in Word.

Some of the most frequently asked questions by the Microsoft Word users are: How to fix spell check not working in Word 2013? How to fix spell checker does not recognize misspelled words in Word 2010? Is there any solution to fix spell check not working in some parts of document? The spelling and grammar checker isn’t working as expected, what to do now?

Frankly, there is no one and the only specific reason for why Grammar and Spell Check not working in Word 2016 / 2013 / 2010. The reason for Word spell check not working problem could be many.

Let’s say, you have added a new language to your system and then spell check not working issue might arise. If you are a Windows 10 user and have changed the language of Cortana then you might face spelling and grammar check isn’t working properly issue.

But you shouldn’t worry too much about this grammar and spell check not working in Microsoft Word problem. In today’s Microsoft Word tutorial, we have come up with a great solution and going to explain how to fix spell check not working in Word 2013 / 2016 / 2010. Let’s dive in.

Follow the step by step guide which we have mentioned below to fix grammatical error checker issue in Microsoft Word.

If the spelling and grammar checker isn’t working as you expected or spell check not working in some parts of the document, you can follow these solutions to get rid of Word spell check not working problem:

Method 1: Turn on Grammar and Spell Check in Microsoft Word

Before doing any changes in the Microsoft Word settings, make sure spelling and grammar check tools are enabled. Here’s how to do so:

Step (1): At first, open Microsoft Word on your computer. Next, click on the “File” menu and then select “Options” option.

Step (2): Now select “Proofing” option from the left pane and then make sure all the options available under “When correcting spelling and grammar in Word” section is checked. Following options should be checked:

• Check spelling as you type
• Use contextual spelling
• Mark grammar errors as you type
• Check grammar with spelling

Step (3): In case, all these options aren’t enabled, enable them by checking the check box and then click on OK button.

Once you have confirmed that spelling and grammar checker tools are enabled, now you can follow these below-explained methods to fix Word spell check not working problem.

Method 2: Set Default Proofing Language in Microsoft Word

If you have added multiple languages for Microsoft Word spell check then setting up a language preference might help you in solving “spell check not working in Word” issue. Here’s how:

Step (1): First of all, open Microsoft Word on your computer. At the bottom of the Word document, you will see language like English (U.S.), English (India), and English (U.K.) etc. Click on Language button.

Step (2): In case, you have added multiple languages then you will see all the marked languages on Language dialog-box as shown in the below screenshot.

Step (3): Now select the one language which you want to use in Microsoft Word and then uncheck these following options:

• Do not check spelling or grammar
• Detect language automatically

Step (4): After selecting language and unchecking options, click on “Set As Default” button to set default proofing language in Microsoft Word and save the changes.

That’s it! This troubleshoot might solve Spell check not working in Word 2010 / 2013 / 2016 issue.

One thing you need to keep in mind that if you don’t uncheck these options ( Do not check spelling or grammar, Detect language automatically), you will again experience grammar and spell check not working in Word problem.

Method 3: Check Proofing Exception in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word provides plenty of ways to customize the spelling and grammar checking settings to meet your exact needs. So in case, if you have made any changes in the proofing exceptions option to get rid of red and green squiggly underlines in Microsoft Word then it might also cause the problem of the spelling and grammar checker isn’t working as expected. Here’s what to do:

Step (1): First of all, open Microsoft Word on your computer and then go to File > Options.

Step (2): Next, click on “Proofing” option from the left pane and then scroll to the bottom area and make sure all the options available under “Exceptions for:” section is unchecked. Following options should be unchecked:

• Hide spelling errors in this document only
• Hide grammar errors in this document only

Step (3): In case, these two options aren’t unchecked, uncheck them and then click on OK button.

If you don’t uncheck these both, Microsoft Word won’t be able to detect spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, and you will be experiencing grammar and spell check not working in Word.

Method 4: Install Proofing Tools in Office 2016 / 2013 / 2010

Another reason of Grammar and spell check not working in Word is that Microsoft Office Proofing Tools are not installed on your system. Here’s how to install Proofing Tools in Office 2013 / 2016 / 2010:

Step (1): At first, close all the programs running on your computer.

Step (2): Next, open Control Panel and then click on Uninstall a program option.

Step (3): From the Uninstall or change a program window, Select Microsoft Office and then click on Change option.

Step (4): In the Microsoft Office Edition dialog box, select “Add or Remove Features” and then click on Continue button.

Step (5): From the Installation Options tab, expand Office Shared Feature menu and click on the icon next to Proofing Tools, and then click on the Run all from My Computer option.

Thus, you can easily install Proofing Tools in Microsoft Office in order to fix spell check not working in Microsoft Word.

Method 5: Enable the Speller EN-US add-in

Also, check and see if Speller EN-US add-in is enabled or not. If you have selected the language as English (US), then it should be Speller EN-US. Here’s how to enable the Speller EN-US add-in in Microsoft Word:

Step (1): First of all, open Microsoft Word on your computer and then go to File > Options.

Step (2): Next, click on “Add-Ins” option from the left pane. From the Manage drop-down menu, select Disabled items option in the place of COM Add-ins. Finally, click on Go button.

Step (3): On the Disabled Items dialog box, check if Speller EN-US (nlsdata0009.dll) is available in the Select the ones you which to re-enable box or not.

Step (4): If Speller EN-US (nlsdata0009.dll) is listed there, click on it and then click on Enable.

Step (5): Finally, click on Close and then click OK button.

Once you have made all these changes in order to fix word spell check not working issue, restart your computer for changes to take effect. Microsoft Word’s Grammar and Spell check should start working now.

Conclusion

So, these are some of the most helpful Word spell check not working methods which you can try to apply if the spelling and grammar checker doesn’t work as you expected in Microsoft Word.

All these spelling and grammar check troubleshooting steps are going to be same for almost all versions of Microsoft Word (2010, 2013 and 2016). So, make sure that you have followed all the steps in the right order as then only you will be able to fix Spell check not working in Word problem.

We hope that now you are able to easily fix such Microsoft Word issues (The spell checker does not recognize misspelled words in Word 2010, Word 2013 spell check not working in some parts of the document) after reading this How to fix spell check not working in word 2016 / 2013 / 2010 tutorial.

Please, feel free to let us know using the comments section below if you are still having any problems or questions regarding Spell check not working in Word or Word spell check not working properly.

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