Cross out words on apps with no formatting menu. This strikethrough text generator gives you 8 line styles to copy.
A line through text usually needs a formatting button. A strikethrough text generator gets around that by adding a Unicode combining character after every letter you type. The character (U+0336) draws a horizontal stroke through whatever sits in front of it. Because the line is part of the text and not a formatting setting, it survives copy and paste into Instagram bios, TikTok captions, YouTube comments, Steam profiles and any plain text box that strips bold or italics.
Most people use it for jokes: "going to the gym t̶o̶m̶o̶r̶r̶o̶w̶ eventually." It also works for showing a price drop ($̶4̶9̶ $29), editing a list in public, or marking a task as done in a note app with no checkboxes.
Unicode has several marks that sit on top of a letter. Each one gives a slightly different cross-out:
| Style | Mark | Looks like | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | U+0336 | t̶e̶x̶t̶ | Jokes, price drops, edits |
| Short strike | U+0335 | t̵e̵x̵t̵ | A shorter line that leaves letter edges visible |
| Tilde strike | U+0334 | t̴e̴x̴t̴ | A playful, wobbly cross-out |
| Slash through | U+0337 | t̷e̷x̷t̷ | A "not allowed" look |
| Long slash | U+0338 | t̸e̸x̸t̸ | A heavier, more obvious cross-out |
| X marks | U+033D | t̽e̽x̽t̽ | Marking something as wrong |
The classic, bold and cursive styles strike the spaces too, so the line runs unbroken across the whole phrase. The other styles skip spaces, which keeps each word easier to read.
Some apps support strikethrough natively, and their built-in version is cleaner because screen readers handle it properly:
Use the Unicode version from this page where there's no strikethrough option: Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter) posts, YouTube titles, game profiles and display names.
Character limits. Every crossed out letter is really two characters: the letter plus the line. A 20 letter phrase uses about 40 characters, which matters in an Instagram bio capped at 150.
Screen readers. Assistive tech may read each mark out loud or skip the word. Keep the cross-out to a word or two, not your whole caption.
Line position. The exact height of the line depends on the font your phone uses. On most devices it sits through the middle of lowercase letters, but on a few it lands slightly higher.
Line styles go together: the underline text generator puts the line below the text instead. A crossed out word next to bold text makes a punchy edit, and for a fully broken look, try the glitch text generator.