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5 min fix Updated 8 Aug 2026Intermediate

By , IT support technician

Quick Answer

Select everything with Ctrl + A, click Review > Language > Set Proofing Language, and clear the Do not check spelling or grammar box — the flag that silently switches checking off. Then click OK.

Fix Spelling and Grammar Check Not Working in Word ​

Applies to: Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016); Windows
Article Type: Troubleshooting
Last Updated: 2026-08-08

Summary ​

A document that ships with typos because the red underlines silently stopped is worse than one that never had checking at all. This article works through the reasons Word stops flagging mistakes — a wrong proofing language, a hidden do-not-check flag, switched-off live checking, and a per-document hide setting — in the order that finds the culprit fastest.

Symptoms ​

  • Obvious typos sit in the document with no red underline.
  • Grammar problems get no blue underline, in this document or any document.
  • Checking works in every document except one.
  • Checking works in most of a document but skips certain paragraphs.

Before You Start ​

  • Microsoft Word on Windows. Word for the web checks automatically and hides most of these settings; the fixes below need the desktop app.
  • Edit access to the document. If it opens with a Read-Only banner across the top, click Enable Editing first.
  • No admin rights required.

Instructions ​

1. Run a Manual Check to See What Word Reports ​

One manual check tells you which half of the fix tree you are in — a checker that finds nothing, or a checker that works but has its live underlines hidden.

  1. Open the document and press F7. In current Microsoft 365 the Editor pane opens on the right — Editor is the modern name for the spelling and grammar checker. In older versions the same key opens the Spelling & Grammar dialog. The ribbon button is Review > Editor or Review > Spelling & Grammar respectively.
  2. Read the result. If the checker finds your typos here but never underlines them as you type, live checking is switched off — go to Step 4.
  3. If it reports the document is fine while you are looking at a typo, the text itself is flagged as do-not-check — continue with Step 2.

2. Set the Proofing Language and Clear the Do-Not-Check Flag ​

Word stores a language flag inside the text itself, and the same dialog holds the one checkbox that switches checking off entirely. This flag travels with pasted text, which is why the problem so often starts partway through a document.

  1. Press Ctrl + A to select the whole document.
  2. Click the Review tab, then Language > Set Proofing Language. The Language dialog opens.
  3. Confirm the highlighted language is the one you write in. If the wrong language is selected, click the right one — Word checks your words against the dictionary of whatever language the text is flagged as.
  4. Clear the Do not check spelling or grammar checkbox. A filled or black square instead of a clear box means only part of your selection carries the flag — click the box until it is fully cleared.
  5. Click OK. Red underlines appear on any misspelled words within a few seconds.
  6. If underlines appear now but the problem comes back in certain paragraphs, the flag lives in a style rather than the text — that is Step 3.

3. Clear the Flag Hiding Inside a Style ​

The do-not-check flag can live in the paragraph style itself, and then re-flagging the text never sticks — the style reapplies the flag every time.

  1. Click inside a paragraph that refuses checking, then look at the Styles gallery on the Home tab. The highlighted style is the one in charge of that paragraph.
  2. Right-click that style in the gallery and choose Modify. The Modify Style dialog opens.
  3. Click Format in the bottom-left corner, then Language.
  4. Clear Do not check spelling or grammar and click OK.
  5. Leave Only in this document selected at the bottom of the Modify Style dialog, so the change stays local to this file, then click OK. This edits only the style's proofing setting — fonts and spacing stay as they are, and re-ticking the box puts it back.
  6. Repeat for any other style used by unchecked paragraphs. Every paragraph using the style is fixed at once.

4. Turn Check-as-You-Type Back On ​

Word can be set to check only when asked. Two checkboxes bring the live underlines back.

  1. Click File > Options. The Word Options dialog opens.
  2. Click Proofing in the left-hand list.
  3. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, tick Check spelling as you type.
  4. Tick Mark grammar errors as you type.
  5. Click OK. Underlines reappear across the document within a few seconds.

5. Clear the Per-Document Exceptions ​

The bottom of the same Proofing page can hide errors in one document only while every other file checks normally — the exact symptom that sends people here.

  1. Click File > Options > Proofing again.
  2. Scroll to the Exceptions for: section at the bottom of the page. The dropdown names the document you have open.
  3. Clear Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide grammar errors in this document only.
  4. Open the Exceptions for: dropdown and select All New Documents, then clear the same two boxes there if they are ticked — set there, every future document inherits the problem.
  5. Click OK. The underlines the document was hiding become visible immediately.

6. Recheck the Document ​

Word remembers every word you told it to ignore. Recheck Document wipes that memory, so nothing stays silently skipped.

  1. Click File > Options > Proofing.
  2. Click Recheck Document. Word warns that it will recheck words you previously chose to ignore — click Yes. Nothing is deleted: previously ignored words are flagged again, you can ignore them again as they come up, and words you added to your custom dictionary are untouched.
  3. Click OK, then press F7 and work through what the checker finds.

Troubleshooting ​

TIP

The do-not-check flag travels with copied text. Text pasted from a web page, an email, or another document brings its proofing settings along — which is why checking so often breaks from one paragraph onward, right where a paste happened. Pasting with Keep Text Only (right-click, then the paste icon showing the letter A) strips the flag along with the formatting.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Words in CAPITALS are never flaggedIgnore words in UPPERCASE is tickedUntick it under File > Options > Proofing.
Words containing numbers are never flaggedIgnore words that contain numbers is tickedUntick it in the same dialog.
One real typo is never flagged, in any documentThe word was added to your custom dictionary by mistakeClick File > Options > Proofing > Custom Dictionaries > Edit Word List, select the word, click Delete. Word flags it again from now on; re-adding it reverses this.
Nearly every word is underlined in redProofing language does not match the textSet the correct language for the whole document (Step 2).
Proofing options are grayed out and cannot be changedCompany policy locks proofing settingsAsk IT to enable spelling and grammar proofing in Word for your account, and include a screenshot of the grayed-out Proofing page in Word Options.
No Editor button on the Review tabOlder Word versionPress F7 — the Spelling & Grammar dialog is the same checker under its older name.