Last updated October 11, 2026 · Report an error
Many apps — chat clients, comment fields, usernames, bios, and plenty of form fields — don't support rich-text strikethrough formatting at all, so wrapping a word in Markdown-style ~~tildes~~ just shows the literal tildes instead of a struck-through line. This tool solves that by inserting a Unicode combining strikethrough mark (U+0336, the combining long stroke overlay) after every character, producing a genuinely struck-through look using plain text characters that render correctly almost anywhere, since it doesn't rely on the receiving app understanding any special formatting syntax. It's commonly used to show a "was this price, now this price" discount effect, to visually mark a correction or retraction in a message, or simply for a stylistic crossed-out look in a social media bio or post.
How it works
A combining long-stroke-overlay character (U+0336) is inserted immediately after each character in your text. Because Unicode combining marks are designed to render layered on top of the preceding character rather than as their own separate glyph, the result visually displays a line running through each character wherever the rendering software correctly supports Unicode combining marks — which is nearly universal in modern software.
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Examples
A crossed-out price
Typing "$50" produces a struck-through version usable in a chat message or product listing to show a "was $50, now $35" discount effect, even where rich text formatting isn't available.
Marking a correction in a message
Striking through an incorrect word like "Tuesday" and following it with the correct word "Wednesday" is a common way to visibly show an edit or correction in a plain-text chat thread.
Who should use it
- Showing a "crossed out" price or correction in a chat app.
- Novelty struck-through social posts.
- Marking a retracted or corrected word in a message.
Industry applications
- Social media/chat communication
- E-commerce (discount price displays)
Advantages
- Works in plain-text-only contexts.
- Real Unicode characters, copy-paste ready.
- Widely supported across modern apps and devices.
Limitations
- May render less cleanly than native strikethrough formatting where that's supported.
- Not always treated as identical to plain text by search/accessibility tools.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using this where real Markdown/rich-text strikethrough (like ~~text~~) is already supported — the native option usually looks visually cleaner there.
- Applying strikethrough to a long block of text, which can become harder to read than intended.
- Assuming struck-through text is machine-readable identically to plain text by search or accessibility tools.
Best practices
- Use this specifically for plain-text contexts that don't support Markdown or rich-text formatting.
- Reserve it for short phrases like a price or single corrected word for maximum legibility.
- Check how your target platform renders combining marks before relying on this for something important.
Tips
- If your platform supports Markdown, native ~~strikethrough~~ syntax will usually render more cleanly than this Unicode approach.
- Keep struck-through phrases short for the clearest visual effect.