About the Strikethrough Text Generator
This strikethrough text generator crosses out your text using Unicode combining characters, so the effect survives copy and paste into places that have no formatting toolbar: Instagram bios, X (Twitter) posts, Facebook, Discord, WhatsApp, YouTube comments, usernames and plain-text emails.
Besides the classic long strike, you can create short strikes, slashed text, underlined and double-underlined text, overlines, wavy underlines and an x-through style. People use it to show a joke correction (~~was~~ is), mark a price drop, show completed items in a list, or simply stand out in a feed.
The tool places one combining mark after every character, which the font then draws over or under that character. Rendering depends on the app and font: most modern phones and browsers display it well, but screen readers may read the marks aloud or skip the text, so avoid it for important information.
How to use the strikethrough text generator
- 1Type or paste your text.
- 2Pick a style such as strikethrough, underline or slash.
- 3Choose whether spaces are crossed out too for a continuous line.
- 4Copy the styled text and paste it into your post, bio or message.
Formula and method
Unicode has "combining" characters that attach to the character before them instead of taking up their own space. The long stroke overlay U+0336 is drawn through the middle of the previous letter, the low line U+0332 underneath it, the overline U+0305 above it, and so on. Writing one mark M after every character c produces text that looks struck through or underlined in any app that renders Unicode.
Line breaks and tabs are skipped so lines stay intact, characters that are already combining marks (or invisible format characters such as the zero-width joiner inside emoji) are not marked again, and spaces are marked only when you want a continuous line. Because each mark is a real code point, the styled text is longer: "Strike this text" (16 characters) becomes 32 characters with spaces included.
- cᵢ
- Each character of your text
- M
- The combining mark for the chosen style (e.g. U+0336)
Worked examples
Cross out a phrase
A long stroke overlay (U+0336) follows each of the 16 characters, including the two spaces, giving 32 code points that display as one continuous struck-through line.
Underline words but not the gaps
Six letters each get a combining low line (U+0332) and the space is left alone, so 7 characters grow to 13 and the underline breaks between the words.
Show a price correction
Each of the three characters is followed by the long solidus overlay U+0338, drawing a slash through "$40" to show the old price.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make strikethrough text on Instagram, Facebook or X?+
These apps have no strikethrough button, so type your text here, copy the result and paste it into your post or bio. The Unicode combining stroke travels with the text and displays as crossed-out letters.
Does strikethrough work in Discord, WhatsApp and Slack?+
Those apps have built-in formatting: ~~text~~ in Discord, ~text~ in WhatsApp and Slack. Use that when available because it is cleaner and accessible; the Unicode version here also works and is handy in usernames or places where markdown is not supported.
Why does the line look broken or misplaced?+
Combining marks are drawn by the font. Some fonts position U+0336 slightly differently, and a few apps do not support combining characters at all, showing boxes or separated lines. Try the short-stroke or slash style if the long stroke looks off.
Why is my text longer after styling?+
Every character gets one invisible combining mark, roughly doubling the character count. Keep this in mind for limits such as Instagram’s 150-character bio or a 30-character username.
Is strikethrough text accessible?+
Not very. Screen readers may announce each combining mark or skip the word, so do not use it for essential information, links or names. Use it for decorative effect only.