How text stays crossed out after copy-paste
The strike is not formatting: it is a combining character, U+0336. It is inserted after each letter and drawn over it. The text stays text, so the line travels with it from field to field.
Common uses
- Showing a discount: old price crossed out, new price beside it.
- Marking an idea as dropped without deleting it.
- Ticking off a finished task in a list.
- The ironic tone that is everywhere on social media.
When native strikethrough is better
On WhatsApp write ~text~. On Discord, ~~text~~. On a web page, the <s> or <del> tag. All of these stay readable to screen readers, unlike combining characters — use the generator only where none of those exist.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the line misaligned on some letters?
Combining characters are rendered by the system font. On wide letters or accents, alignment varies slightly between devices.
Can I strike through text in Excel or Word?
Those have a real strikethrough button, far more reliable. Unicode strikethrough is for fields with no formatting at all.
Does underline work the same way?
Yes, using combining character U+0332. Same principle, same limits.