6 Ways to Spell Check Is Not Working in Microsoft Word

Quick Tips

• Go to File > Options > Proofing and enable Check Spelling as you type.
• Ensure the Hide spelling errors in this document-only option are unchecked in the Proofing menu.
• Go to File > Options > Language and ensure you’ve selected the correct language for proofing.

Before you begin, try to restart Microsoft Word to fix temporary bugs and glitches.

Fix 1: Enable Check Spelling As You Type

The ‘Check spelling as you type’ setting must be checked or enabled for Word to spell-check the document in real-time and show the familiar zig-zag red line underneath the misspelled word.

Step 1: Click on the File tab.

Step 2: Select Options in the right sidebar towards the bottom of the menu.

Step 3: Under the Proofing tab, make sure Check spelling as you type is checked.

Step 4: If you are wondering why Word is not spell-checking words in upper case letters, that’s because there is a separate option called Ignore words in UPPERCASE.

Fix 2: Check If Spelling Errors are Disabled For the Document

It may be possible that the document you are editing has been added to the exceptions list, which is why Word is not proofreading it for spelling errors.

Step 1: Click on the File tab.

Step 2: Select Options in the right sidebar towards the bottom of the menu.

Step 3: Select Proofing and towards the bottom, make sure that the Hide spelling errors in this document-only option are unchecked.

Note that the ‘Hide spelling errors in this document only’ option will be enabled and greyed out if ‘Check spelling as you type’ is disabled. That means you can’t disable it either. Follow the steps in the previous point to enable that before you can disable this.

Fix 3: Add a Language to Check Spelling

Even if one is writing or editing a document in English, Word must have the correct proofing language selected. At times, proofing language is accidentally set to a foreign language.

Step 1: Click on the File tab.

Step 2: Select Options in the right sidebar towards the bottom of the menu.

Step 3: Select Language from the sidebar and check if your preferred proofing language is installed. If not, click on Add a Language and select your desired proofing language to install it.

Step 4: Select the proofing language from the pop-up menu and click on Add.

Fix 4: Add a Custom Dictionary

At times Word app may struggle to identify what you’ve typed. For example, when you are using slang or short form, the app won’t detect the spelling accurately. In such cases, you can add the word you’ve typed to Word’s inbuilt dictionary.

Just right-click on the word and select Add to Dictionary option under Spelling in the context menu.

Fix 5: Update Document Style

Microsoft Word allows users to create and set Styles, a collection of formatting options including a spell checker you can set for the entire document. This is separate from the universal options that we saw in the above steps.

Step 1: Under the Home tab, right-click on the chosen Style and select Modify from the context menu.

Step 2: Click on Format at the bottom left corner of the screen and select Language.

Step 3: Make sure to uncheck the Do not check spelling or grammar option

Fix 6: Use the Grammarly Extension

If spell check is not working on Microsoft Word, you can use a third-party tool. Grammarly is a tool that will highlight and suggest spelling errors and allow you to correct them quickly with a single click. They also have an add-in for both Word and Outlook desktop apps.

To know more, read How to Use Grammarly in Microsoft Word for Windows and Mac