Strikethrough Text Generator: Cross Out Words Online
Create perfect strikethrough text for any platform. Whether you're editing content, showing changes, or adding humor to your messages, our generator creates clean strikethrough effects that work everywhere while maintaining readability.
Applies a Unicode combining strikethrough character to every letter instantly — the result looks like ~~struck-through~~ text but works in Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, and LinkedIn bios where markdown strikethrough is unavailable.
Works in every plain-text field that renders Unicode combining characters — the strikethrough persists when copied and pasted into social media compose boxes, messaging apps, and plain text files.
Communicates revision, irony, retraction, or deliberate contrast — the crossed-out word while the original remains visible is one of the most recognizable rhetorical moves in digital writing.
Handles any length of text in a single pass, preserving spaces and punctuation while applying the strikethrough to all alphabetic and numeric characters.
Real-time preview shows the struck-through output as you type.
Free with no account or character limit.
How to Use
Type or paste your text
Preview your crossed text
Copy and paste anywhere
Content Editing
- Corrections
- Revisions
- Edits
- Updates
Social Media
- Humor
- Sarcasm
- Corrections
- Jokes
Professional Use
- Document changes
- Price updates
- Status changes
- Task completion
| Original Text | Result |
|---|---|
wrong text | w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶ t̶e̶x̶t̶ |
old price $99 | o̶l̶d̶ p̶r̶i̶c̶e̶ $9̶9̶ |
completed task | c̶o̶m̶p̶l̶e̶t̶e̶d̶ t̶a̶s̶k̶ |
not anymore | n̶o̶t̶ a̶n̶y̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ |
Social Networks
- Twitter/X
- Discord
Messaging Apps
- Telegram
- Messenger
- Slack
Use strikethrough text on social media to show a 'correction' with ironic intent — write the wrong statement in strikethrough followed by the right one, creating a rhetorical move that simultaneously shows what you are rejecting and what you are claiming.
For Instagram and Twitter/X posts discussing price changes, old policies, or superseded information, strikethrough text signals the before-state clearly while keeping it visible for context — readers can see what changed without the post needing an explanatory sentence.
In Discord messages and server descriptions, strikethrough text marks outdated rules or changed information that you want to keep visible for transparency rather than deleting — the struck-through text reads as retracted but acknowledged.
For creative writing and humor, ~~what I wanted to say~~ what I actually said is a well-established comedic format on Twitter/X that relies on the reader seeing both the struck-through and the replacement to get the joke.
Combine strikethrough with regular text in the same sentence rather than applying it to an entire block — the effect is strongest when the struck-through element contrasts with surrounding plain text.
Use strikethrough purposefully rather than decoratively — the format carries a specific rhetorical meaning (retraction, irony, correction, or deliberate contrast) and using it without that intent makes posts harder to parse.
Test readability before publishing — some platform fonts and display sizes render the combining strikethrough line thin enough that it disappears at small sizes, making the struck-through text look like regular text rather than crossed-out text.
Keep struck-through runs short — a word or a short phrase. Entire sentences in strikethrough are harder to read and the rhetorical effect is weakened because the reader cannot distinguish what the strikethrough is contrasting against.
Be aware that Unicode combining strikethrough characters behave differently across platforms and fonts — on some platforms the line sits well across the text, on others it appears offset above or below the letters. Test on your specific target platform.
For professional content on LinkedIn, use strikethrough sparingly and only when the ironic or correction intent is immediately clear — casual strikethrough humor can read as careless or unpolished in a professional network context.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about our tools and services.
Understanding S̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ Text
Strikethrough text in plain-text digital contexts uses a Unicode combining character — U+0336 COMBINING LONG STROKE OVERLAY — applied to each base character in sequence. This combining character attaches a horizontal line across the preceding character without occupying its own space, producing the visual appearance of struck-through text. Because it uses a combining character rather than a dedicated strikethrough Unicode block, it works on any character including letters, digits, and punctuation, and it renders on every platform that supports Unicode combining characters — which includes essentially every modern text renderer.
The rhetorical use of strikethrough text is deeply embedded in digital writing culture. On Twitter/X, the format has been used since the early platform days to signal irony, self-correction, and humor — ~~definitely not procrastinating~~ working hard is readable immediately as an ironic self-admission. This format is well enough understood across Twitter/X, Reddit, Tumblr, and Discord that posting strikethrough text without a surrounding explanation still communicates its intended meaning clearly to audiences familiar with digital writing conventions.
For content creators posting updates, corrections, and policy changes, strikethrough is a transparency tool. Showing the old price, old rule, or old claim in strikethrough while adding the replacement text in plain form makes the change legible without requiring a separate explanation post — readers see both the before and after state in a single visual unit. Instagram posts announcing price changes, Discord server rules that have been updated, and Twitter/X posts correcting earlier claims all use this technique.
In academic and professional writing that ends up in plain-text digital contexts — academic Twitter, LinkedIn articles, Substack newsletters — strikethrough occasionally appears in the editorial tradition of showing tracked changes or revisions. A footnote or correction that strikes through the original phrasing and adds the corrected version signals intellectual honesty and precision. This is a subtle signal that reads as credibility marker to academic and professional audiences.
The combining character approach to strikethrough has a rendering variability caveat: the horizontal line is drawn by the platform's font rendering engine, and the exact position, thickness, and alignment of the line relative to the text varies across fonts and platforms. On some fonts the line sits perfectly through the middle of the characters; on others it appears too high or too low. On platforms with very small default text sizes, the line can become too thin to see clearly. Always test on your target platform at its actual display size before publishing strikethrough text in high-visibility content.