The Distraction of Automatic Spell Check
By default, Microsoft Word actively monitors every single word you type. If it detects a spelling error, it instantly underlines the word with a jagged red line. If it detects a grammatical error or structural issue, it adds a blue double underline. While this real-time feedback is invaluable for quickly drafting emails or standard reports, it can be incredibly distracting for creative writers, novelists, or professionals drafting complex technical documents filled with industry-specific jargon that the dictionary doesn’t recognize. If your screen is covered in red lines, it can break your flow state. If you prefer to write freely and perform a bulk spell check only when the document is finished, you can completely disable the automatic checking feature.
How to Turn Off “Check Spelling as You Type”
You can disable these features globally through the main Word Options menu. This will apply to all documents you open in the future.
- Open Microsoft Word.
- Click on the File tab in the top left corner of the ribbon.
- At the very bottom of the left-hand sidebar, click on Options. (If you don’t see it, you may need to click “More…” first).
- In the Word Options dialog box that opens, select Proofing from the left-hand menu.
- Scroll down to the section titled “When correcting spelling and grammar in Word.”
- Uncheck the box labeled Check spelling as you type to remove the red squiggly lines.
- Uncheck the box labeled Mark grammar errors as you type to remove the blue double lines.
- Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to save your changes.
How to Manually Check Your Document Later
Disabling the automatic feature does not remove the spell-checking engine from Word; it simply stops it from running actively in the background. When you have finished writing your document and are ready to review it for errors:
- Click on the Review tab in the ribbon at the top of the screen.
- Click the large Spelling & Grammar button (or Editor button in newer versions) on the far left side of the ribbon, or simply press F7 on your keyboard.
- The traditional spell-check pane will open, allowing you to methodically review and correct all errors at once, without having suffered through visual distractions while writing.