How to Stop Microsoft Word from Automatically Changing Text into Emojis (Smiley Faces)

When drafting a casual email or a quick memo in Microsoft Word, you might occasionally type a colon followed by a closing parenthesis :) to indicate a joke. However, the exact millisecond you press the spacebar, Word’s AutoCorrect engine will violently intercept those two punctuation marks and automatically convert them into a massive, bright yellow, graphical Emoji (a Smiley Face).

While this is perfectly acceptable in a text message to a friend, it is completely inappropriate in a professional setting. If you are typing complex mathematical notations, specific programming syntax, or simply trying to use a standard text-based emoticon in a formal company newsletter, having Word aggressively inject cartoon graphics into your document ruins the formatting and destroys the professional tone of your writing.

You can dive into the AutoCorrect options to explicitly hunt down and delete the specific rules that trigger these emoji replacements, forcing Word to respect your raw punctuation marks.

How to Turn Off Automatic Emojis in Word

You must delete the smiley face triggers from the AutoCorrect dictionary.

1. Open your document in Microsoft Word.
2. Click on File in the top-left corner of the ribbon.
3. Click on Options at the bottom of the left sidebar.
4. In the Word Options window, select Proofing from the left-hand navigation pane.
5. Click the AutoCorrect Options… button in the main pane.
6. A new dialog box will open. Ensure you are on the very first tab labeled AutoCorrect.
7. Scroll through the alphabetical list in the “Replace text as you type” box.
8. Locate the entries for :), :(, and :|. You will see the corresponding graphical emojis next to them.
9. Click on the :) entry to highlight it in blue.
10. Click the Delete button at the bottom of the window to permanently remove that specific rule. Repeat this for the frowny face and the neutral face.
11. Click OK twice to close both windows and save your changes.

Microsoft Word will instantly stop transforming your punctuation. The next time you type a colon and a parenthesis, it will remain as clean, standard, professional text, ensuring your documents remain free of unwanted cartoon graphics.