The Distracting Squiggles
Google Docs includes a robust, real-time spell checker. As you type, the software constantly compares your words against its internal dictionary. If it detects a word it does not recognize, it automatically underlines it with a jagged red line. This is incredibly useful for standard writing. However, if you are drafting a highly technical document filled with industry jargon, proprietary software names, or a fantasy novel filled with made-up locations and character names, your document will be covered in hundreds of distracting red squiggly lines, making it very difficult to actually read and review the text.
Silencing the Spell Checker
To clean up your visual workspace and stop Google Docs from automatically underlining perceived spelling errors with red lines, you must disable the active spelling indicator.
Open your Google Docs document. In the main menu bar at the top, click on Tools. Hover your mouse over the Spelling and grammar option in the dropdown menu. A secondary menu will fly out to the side. Look for the option labelled Show spelling suggestions. By default, there will be a checkmark next to this option. Click it once to remove the checkmark. The red squiggly underlines will immediately vanish from your entire document. Note that this does not turn off the spell checker entirely; you can still run a manual check later by clicking Tools > Spelling and grammar > Spelling and grammar check. It simply stops the aggressive, automatic visual flagging while you are actively drafting.