What are Spelling and Grammar Squiggles?
By default, Google Docs acts as an active proofreader. As you type, it constantly scans your words against a dictionary and grammar ruleset. If it detects a misspelled word, it underlines it with a red squiggle. If it detects a grammatical error (like using the wrong tense), it underlines it with a blue squiggle.
While this is generally helpful, it can be incredibly frustrating if you are writing a document that intentionally uses non-standard words—such as a fantasy novel full of made-up names, a technical manual filled with code snippets, or a transcript written in a heavy dialect. Having your screen covered in bright red and blue lines makes it very difficult to read your own work. You can turn these visual warnings off.
How to Disable the Spelling and Grammar Squiggles
You can hide the visual underlines without permanently turning off the ability to run a manual spell check later.
- Open your document in Google Docs on a desktop web browser.
- Look at the top menu bar and click on Tools.
- Hover your mouse over the very first option in the dropdown list: Spelling and grammar.
- A secondary menu will pop out to the right.
- Look for the option labelled Show spelling suggestions. If there is a checkmark next to it, click it to turn it off.
- Open the Tools > Spelling and grammar menu a second time.
- Look for the option labelled Show grammar suggestions. Click it to remove the checkmark.
The moment you uncheck these two options, all the red and blue squiggly lines will instantly disappear from your document, giving you a clean, distraction-free writing environment. When you are finished writing, you can always click Tools > Spelling and grammar > Spelling and grammar check to run a manual review.