The Aggressive Autocorrect
macOS features a system-wide autocorrect engine designed to catch typos as you type. While this is helpful on a smartphone touchscreen, it is often incredibly frustrating on a full physical keyboard. If you type technical jargon, specific industry acronyms, computer code, or names that the Apple dictionary does not recognize, macOS will aggressively and automatically change your word the moment you press the Spacebar. If you don’t notice the change immediately and press the tiny “X” bubble to revert it, your emails and documents will be filled with embarrassing, nonsensical word replacements.
How to Disable System-Wide Autocorrect
You can turn off the autocorrect engine entirely, forcing the Mac to leave your typed words exactly as you typed them, while still utilizing the less-intrusive red squiggly lines to highlight potential errors.
1. Click the Apple logo () in the top-left corner of your menu bar.
2. Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older versions).
3. In the left-hand sidebar, scroll down and click on Keyboard.
4. Locate the “Text Input” section on the right side.
5. Click the Edit… button next to “Input Sources.”
6. A new panel will appear. Look at the toggle switches listed below your language.
7. Locate the toggle switch labelled Correct spelling automatically.
8. Turn this switch Off.
9. Click Done.
How to Disable Auto-Capitalization
If you are turning off autocorrect because you write code or terminal commands, you should also disable the automatic capitalization feature, which forces the first letter of a sentence to become uppercase. In the exact same menu where you disabled autocorrect, look for the toggle switch labelled Capitalize words automatically and turn it Off as well. This ensures your Mac keyboard behaves exactly like a traditional, dumb typewriter.