A line through every character
Strikethrough Text Generator
This strikethrough text generator draws a line through every character, like s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶, so you can copy and paste crossed-out text into bios, captions, comments, and names that have no strikethrough button. It adds the Unicode combining long stroke overlay (U+0336) after each letter, so the line is part of the text itself, not formatting that gets lost when you paste.
Use it to cross out an old price, a finished to-do, or a joke correction anywhere plain text goes. If your app already has strikethrough formatting, like Google Docs, WhatsApp, or Discord messages, the native shortcuts are listed below and they're the cleaner choice there. Want a line under text instead? Use the underline text generator.
ExampleT̶i̶n̶y̶ ̶t̶e̶x̶t̶,̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶m̶o̶o̶d̶.̶
Last updated
Unicode text converter
Make strikethrough text.
A line through every character. Your focused result appears first, with every other style close by.
2 Choose an output · 29 stylesClick any output to copy
Compact, even, and highly readable
Raised miniature letters and numbers
Low-set characters for notes and formulas
Strong mathematical Unicode lettering
Clean sans-serif bold for posts and headers
A clean editorial slant
Expressive and high-impact
Elegant script-style characters
Heavier script letters with no gaps
Technical, measured letterforms
Outlined mathematical lettering
Heavy blackletter with a complete alphabet
Sharp blackletter forms
Soft circled letters and numbers
Solid black circled capitals and numbers
Bold enclosed capitals
Airy arcade-style characters
Full-width letters with extra-wide ideographic spaces
Portable combining underline
Give every character more room
Flip and reverse the whole line
Flip each letter left-to-right, like a reflection
Read the phrase from right to left
A bright social-ready frame
A warm decorative frame
Clean full-width bookends
A restrained corrupted-text effect
Blank Unicode characters that copy and paste like empty space
Copy and paste in four steps.
Type or paste the text you want to cross out into the box below.
Check the strikethrough result. A line is added through each character as you type, spaces included.
Copy the strikethrough output with one tap.
Paste it into a caption, bio, name, or comment. If the line disappears, that field strips combining marks, so use the app's native strikethrough if it has one.
Built for real places you paste text.
Instagram, TikTok & Facebook
None of these have a strikethrough button, so Unicode is the only way to cross out words in a bio, caption, or comment. Instagram's app sometimes drops the marks in bios, so check the result after saving. Each crossed-out letter counts as two characters toward the 2,200-character caption limit.
Discord & gaming names
Use Discord's ~~text~~ in messages, and the Unicode version for display names, nicknames, custom statuses, and server names, where markdown doesn't work. Some channel names strip combining marks.
Price drops & to-do lists
The classic uses: $̶4̶0̶ $25 sale posts, crossed-off checklist items in plain-text notes, and the "I̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶t̶" joke correction in a reply.
Type it natively instead.
Google Docs & Sheets
Select the text and press Alt+Shift+5 (Windows, ChromeOS) or ⌘+Shift+X (Mac). You can also use Format > Text > Strikethrough.
Microsoft Word & Excel
Word for Windows has no default shortcut: press Ctrl+D and tick Strikethrough, or click the abc button on the Home tab. Word for Mac uses ⌘+Shift+X. In Excel, Ctrl+5 toggles strikethrough.
WhatsApp, Slack & Messenger
Wrap the words in single tildes, ~like this~, and the message is sent crossed out. In Slack you can also select the text and press Ctrl+Shift+X (⌘+Shift+X on Mac).
Discord, Telegram & Markdown
Wrap the words in two tildes on each side, ~~like this~~. The same syntax works in GitHub, Reddit, and most Markdown editors. In HTML, use the <s> or <del> tag.
How does a strikethrough text generator work?
It inserts an invisible combining character after every letter, and your device draws that character as a line across the letter before it. So "hi" becomes four code points: h, U+0336, i, U+0336. Because the line is a character and not a style, it survives copying into places that strip bold, italics, and other formatting.
That's also why it can fail. Some fields remove combining marks to stop people from stacking them into Zalgo text, and some fonts draw the line slightly too high or low. Usernames and handles reject them outright.
What strikethrough styles can you make with Unicode?
Unicode has five combining overlays that cross out a letter. The generator uses the long stroke, because it joins into one continuous line in most fonts. The others are copyable from the samples below if you want a different look.
| Style | Sample | Code point | Looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long stroke (this generator) | s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶ | U+0336 | One continuous line |
| Short stroke | s̵t̵r̵i̵k̵e̵ | U+0335 | A short dash through each letter, with gaps |
| Tilde overlay | s̴t̴r̴i̴k̴e̴ | U+0334 | A wavy line |
| Short slash | s̷t̷r̷i̷k̷e̷ | U+0337 | A small diagonal cut |
| Long slash | s̸t̸r̸i̸k̸e̸ | U+0338 | A tall diagonal slash |
Can you make a double strikethrough?
Not reliably with Unicode. Stacking two overlays on one letter usually draws them on top of each other, so it looks the same as one. Word has a real double strikethrough under Font (Ctrl+D) for documents.
Unicode strikethrough vs built-in strikethrough formatting
Built-in strikethrough, like Ctrl+5 in Excel or ~text~ in WhatsApp, is a style the app applies, so the text underneath stays normal. It looks cleaner, counts as normal characters, and stays searchable. But it disappears when you paste into a plain-text field.
Unicode strikethrough is the opposite. It goes anywhere, but every letter becomes two characters, search and hashtags won't match the crossed-out word, and screen readers may read each mark or skip the line, so the meaning is lost. Use the native option where an app has one, and the generator where it doesn't.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
01How do I make strikethrough text to copy and paste?+
Type into the generator above, tap Copy on the strikethrough result, and paste it into the field you need. The line comes along with the letters as part of the text.
02How do I strikethrough text on Instagram?+
Instagram has no strikethrough button, so copy crossed-out text from this generator and paste it into your caption, comment, or bio. If the line disappears from your bio in the app, try saving the bio from a web browser instead.
03How do I cross out text on WhatsApp?+
Put a single tilde on each side of the words, like ~this~, and WhatsApp sends them crossed out. For your WhatsApp name or About text, where that doesn't work, paste Unicode strikethrough from this page.
04How do I strikethrough on Discord?+
In messages, wrap the text in two tildes on each side, like ~~this~~. For display names, nicknames, and statuses, where markdown doesn't work, paste the Unicode version from this generator.
05What is the strikethrough shortcut in Google Docs?+
Alt+Shift+5 on Windows and ChromeOS, or ⌘+Shift+X on a Mac. The same shortcuts work in Google Sheets.
06What is the strikethrough shortcut in Word and Excel?+
Word for Windows has no built-in shortcut, so press Ctrl+D and tick Strikethrough, or use the abc button on the Home tab. Word for Mac uses ⌘+Shift+X, and Excel uses Ctrl+5.
07Why does my strikethrough line sometimes disappear?+
Some platforms strip combining marks for consistency or safety. When that happens the letters stay but the line is removed, and there's no fix on that field. Use the app's native strikethrough if it has one.
08Does strikethrough text count as extra characters?+
Yes. Each crossed-out letter is two characters, the letter plus the overlay mark, so 10 letters use about 20 characters of a bio or caption limit.
09Can I add strikethrough to emoji or other languages?+
Sometimes. The line is designed for Latin letters, so on emoji, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters it often shows misaligned or not at all. Keep strikethrough to Latin text for the best result.
10Is strikethrough text accessible to screen readers?+
Not reliably. Screen readers may read each combining mark aloud or ignore the line, so a listener can't tell the word was crossed out. Don't rely on strikethrough alone to show a correction or a changed price.