How to Turn Off the Grammar Checker in Word

Word's live grammar checker is a good editor and a bad writing coach. The underlines arrive while you think, pulling attention from sentence construction to error repair. Turning the checker off is a settings change that takes a minute, and for English learners it can also be a training decision.

Turn it off in Word for Windows

On Windows, open File, then Options, then Proofing, and untick check grammar as you type before clicking OK.

1. Open any document and go to File.
2. Select Options at the bottom of the list.
3. Select Proofing.
4. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, untick Check grammar as you type.
5. Click OK and the underlines disappear.

The same panel also hides spelling marks if you want a fully clean page; grammar and spelling are separate switches.

On Mac and Word for the web

On Mac use the Word menu, Preferences, then Spelling and Grammar, while Word for the web controls checking through the Editor and proofing language settings.

• Mac: Word menu, Preferences, Spelling and Grammar, clear Check grammar as you type.
• Word for the web: Review tab, Editor, Set Proofing Language, then Don't check spelling or grammar.

Word online has fewer switches than desktop Word, so per-document control there runs through the proofing language.

Off for one document only

Select all text, set the proofing language, and mark it do not check spelling or grammar to quiet one draft without changing global settings.

1. Press Ctrl+A to select the whole draft.
2. Click the proofing language in the status bar.
3. Tick Do not check spelling or grammar.
4. Click OK; only this draft goes quiet.

This method survives template reuse better than toggling global options, and the setting changes how Word displays checking, not the text stored in your file.

Why learners sometimes should switch it off

Writing first drafts with the checker off builds independent editing, because live underlines push writers to accept fixes they have not judged.

The habit to avoid is accepting every suggested correction without reading it; the checker resolves surface errors and misses meaning, and the writer who never judges corrections never internalises them. Turn it back on as a final pass; the goal is judged corrections, not no corrections.

A routine that keeps quality without live checks

Finish the draft, leave it, then run one deliberate editing pass aloud before switching the checker back on as the final check.

1. Write the draft checker-off, start to finish.
2. Leave it for at least an hour.
3. Edit one pass reading aloud, fixing what your ear catches.
4. Switch the checker on and review its findings as suggestions, accepting only those you can justify.

The aloud pass catches missing words the eye silently repairs. Keep the checker on by default and switch it off only for timed practice drafts, so the final pass stays automatic.

FAQ

Will turning it off affect my saved document?

No; the setting changes how Word displays checking, not the text stored in the file.

What if I forget to run a final check?

Keep the checker on by default and switch it off only for timed practice drafts, so the final pass stays automatic.

Does this stop spell check too?

Only if you untick those options as well; grammar and spelling are separate switches in the same panel.