What is strikethrough text?

Strikethrough text displays with a horizontal line drawn through the middle of each character, like t̶h̶i̶s̶. Originally used in editing to mark text for deletion while keeping it visible, strikethrough has evolved into a versatile tool for digital communication.

In modern usage, strikethrough conveys various meanings: showing corrections, indicating sarcasm or humor, representing crossed-off items, or adding dramatic effect to writing. While many platforms offer built-in strikethrough formatting, Unicode combining characters allow you to create strikethrough text that works everywhere.

Tool description

This strikethrough text converter adds a line through your text using Unicode combining characters. Unlike platform-specific formatting that may not transfer when copied, this method creates truly portable strikethrough text that displays correctly on any platform supporting Unicode.

Examples

Input Output
Hello World H̶e̶l̶l̶o̶ ̶W̶o̶r̶l̶d̶
deleted d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶e̶d̶
Crossed Out C̶r̶o̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶O̶u̶t̶
SALE $100 S̶A̶L̶E̶ ̶$̶1̶0̶0̶

Features

  • Works with any text including letters, numbers, and symbols
  • Creates portable strikethrough that copies correctly everywhere
  • Preserves original text formatting and spacing
  • Bidirectional conversion (add or remove strikethrough)
  • Handles multi-line text properly

Use cases

  • Social media posts: Add dramatic effect or show corrections in tweets, posts, and comments
  • Showing price reductions: Display original prices crossed out next to sale prices
  • Humorous corrections: Write something then "cross it out" for comedic effect

How it works

The tool uses the Unicode combining long stroke overlay character (U+0336). This special character is designed to be combined with the preceding character, drawing a line through it. By inserting this combining character after each letter, the text appears struck through.

When removing strikethrough, the tool simply filters out all instances of the combining stroke character, leaving the original text intact.

Tips

  • The strikethrough appearance may vary slightly between fonts and platforms
  • For best results, use with standard Latin characters
  • Some emoji and special characters may not display strikethrough correctly
  • The converted text is longer in bytes due to the added combining characters