Strikethrough Text Generator – Cross Out Text Online
Use the Strikethrough Text Generator to put a visible line through letters, words, prices, or short phrases and copy the result as Unicode text. The tool can also create related effects such as underline, double underline, or slash-through text. Unlike a rich-text strikethrough button, the crossed-out appearance is carried by combining Unicode marks attached to the characters, so it can survive copy and paste in many plain-text fields.
Type or paste the text you want to cross out, choose a line style, then copy the result. For other decorative copy-and-paste styles, use the cute font generator as the parent tool for the wider text-style collection.
If you want to compare crossed-out text with other copy-and-paste styles, the fancy text generator covers a broader range of Unicode-based text effects.
What Is a Strikethrough Text Generator?
A strikethrough text generator creates crossed-out text by adding a combining mark to the characters you type. A common result looks like s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶. The original letters are still present, but each one is followed by an extra Unicode character that draws a line across it.
This is different from clicking a strikethrough button in a document editor. Rich-text formatting stores a style around ordinary text. Unicode strikethrough changes the text sequence itself by inserting combining marks, which is why it can remain visible after a plain-text copy and paste.
Strikethrough and Line Styles
| Style | Example | Visual effect | Unicode mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strikethrough | s̶a̶l̶e̶ | Horizontal line through each character | Combining Long Stroke Overlay |
| Underline | s̲a̲l̲e̲ | Line below each character | Combining Low Line |
| Double underline | s̳a̳l̳e̳ | Two lines below each character | Combining Double Low Line |
| Slash-through | s̸a̸l̸e̸ | Diagonal slash across each character | Combining Long Solidus Overlay |
| Tilde overlay | s̴a̴l̴e̴ | Wavy overlay through the text | Combining Tilde Overlay |
These styles are separate combining characters, not different weights of one strikethrough font. The exact line height, length, or alignment can vary because the destination device decides how the base character and the combining mark are drawn together.
How to Cross Out Text Online
If the line appears broken or misaligned after pasting, try the classic horizontal strikethrough first. It tends to be easier to recognize than decorative slash or tilde overlays, especially at small text sizes.
How Unicode Strikethrough Works
Classic copy-and-paste strikethrough usually uses U+0336 COMBINING LONG STROKE OVERLAY. The generator inserts that mark after a base character. For example, the plain letter “s” becomes the sequence “s” plus the overlay mark, and the font renderer draws them as s̶. Repeating the same pattern across a word creates the crossed-out line.
The important detail is that the line is not stored as a separate graphic floating above the word. It is part of the text sequence. That makes the output portable, but it also means the text contains more Unicode code points than the plain version.
Why Crossed-Out Text Can Have a Higher Character Count
Unicode strikethrough can increase the technical character count because every decorated character may be followed by an additional combining mark. The plain word “sale” contains four base letters. A version that applies one strike overlay after every letter contains eight Unicode code points: four letters plus four overlays.
| Text | Base letters | Overlay marks | Total code points |
|---|---|---|---|
| sale | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| s̶a̶l̶e̶ | 4 | 4 | 8 |
This does not mean the reader sees eight separate symbols. Visually, each base letter and its overlay are normally displayed as one decorated unit. However, apps that enforce limits by code point, UTF-16 unit, byte count, or another internal method may treat decorated text differently. Do not assume a strikethrough version will consume the same limit as the plain text.
Unicode Strikethrough vs. Markdown, HTML and CSS
| Method | Best for | How it works | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode overlay | Plain-text fields, bios, captions, display names | Combining mark travels with copied text | Visual effect only; rendering can vary |
| Markdown | Apps that interpret Markdown syntax | Platform converts markup such as double tildes | Only works where that syntax is supported |
| HTML <del> / <s> | Web pages with semantic markup | Browser renders an element as struck text | Requires HTML support |
| CSS line-through | Website presentation | Styles normal text with text-decoration | Does not survive as plain text when copied without styling |
For a social caption or username field with no formatting controls, Unicode is useful because the decoration is embedded in the text sequence. For actual website content, editorial deletions, or structured documents, semantic markup is usually the better choice because it communicates meaning instead of only drawing a line.
Strikethrough Is a Visual Effect, Not a Deletion
Crossed-out Unicode text does not remove the original letters. Copying s̶a̶l̶e̶ still carries the base letters s, a, l, and e along with the overlay marks. A search engine, form processor, screen reader, text cleaner, or application may treat those combining marks differently, but the underlying letters have not been erased.
This matters when the line is supposed to communicate a real edit. A reader may understand a crossed-out price as “old price,” but software does not automatically know that the value is obsolete.
On a website, use proper semantic markup or structured price data for important information rather than relying on decorative Unicode alone.
Why the Strikethrough Line Sometimes Looks Broken
The overlay is drawn by the font and text-rendering system on the destination device. Different fonts can position the stroke at slightly different heights, and some characters have shapes or widths that make the line look uneven. Mixed scripts, emoji, accented letters, or existing combining marks can make the effect less predictable.
- A font may place the overlay slightly higher or lower than another font.
- Spaces may be struck, skipped, or appear as visible gaps depending on how the generator handles them.
- Emoji and multi-code-point symbols can receive overlays in awkward positions.
- Letters that already use combining accents may stack several marks at once.
- A platform may normalize, filter, or remove some combining characters.
If clean alignment matters, keep the phrase short and test the final pasted version in the exact app and device where it will appear.
If you prefer decorative text without a line through the characters, the cool text generator offers alternative styles for short social and profile text.
Can You Cross Out Numbers, Prices and Punctuation?
Yes, a combining strike can be attached to many letters, digits, and punctuation characters because it is applied after the base character rather than replacing it with a special strikethrough alphabet. This makes the format useful for short before-and-after price displays such as $̶5̶0̶$25, revision notes, or playful corrections.
The result is still decorative text. If the number affects a purchase, invoice, legal statement, or accessibility-critical message, show the current value clearly in ordinary text as well. A visual line alone should not be the only signal that a price or statement has changed.
How to Remove Unicode Strikethrough
To remove Unicode strikethrough, delete the combining overlay marks while keeping the base letters. For classic strikethrough, that usually means removing every U+0336 character from the text. A dedicated “remove strikethrough” option can automate this cleanup without retyping the original sentence.
Do not remove every combining character indiscriminately if the text contains accented writing or another language that relies on combining marks. A safe cleaner should target only the specific decoration marks used by the generator, such as the long stroke overlay, low line, double low line, or solidus overlay.
Where to Use Crossed-Out Text
Crossed-out text works best as a short visual cue where the reader can still understand the plain wording. Common uses include social captions, chat jokes, revised wording, completed list items, old-price examples, and decorative labels.
For profile names and display-name styling rather than crossed-out wording, try the stylish name generator.
- Show an old price next to a clearly displayed current price.
- Create a correction effect in a caption or message.
- Cross out a completed item in a short plain-text list.
- Add a sarcastic edit where the crossed-out word remains intentionally readable.
- Decorate short profile text when the platform accepts combining Unicode marks.
When Not to Use Unicode Strikethrough
Avoid decorative strikethrough when the text must be reliably searchable, machine-readable, accessible, or easy to edit. Long crossed-out paragraphs are harder to scan, and the extra combining marks can complicate copying, counting, moderation, validation, or text processing.
For website revisions, use semantic HTML. For documents with built-in formatting, use the editor’s native strikethrough feature. For essential instructions, addresses, prices, links, or legal content, keep the current information in plain text and use the crossed-out version only as a secondary visual cue.
