Word formatting entire paragraph when I only selected one word or sentence (Word for Mac)

I’m just not seeing the Automatically Update checkbox. What am I missing?

That setting pertains only to updating styles in the document based on incoming styles when attaching a template. You need to modify the Styles used in the document:

1. At the right end of the Home tab click the Styles Pane tool
2. Place the insertion point in an affected paragraph
3. At the right end of the Current Style field click the ▼ & select Modify Style
   1. Click the tool to remove the Italic attribute
   2. In the lower left corner of the Modify Style dialog clear the box for Automatically Update
4. Click OK to close the dialog window

You should find that any paragraphs which have that style applied are reformatted accordingly. However, each style which includes that attribute has to be modified individually.

That setting pertains only to updating styles in the document based on incoming styles when attaching a template. You need to modify the Styles used in the document:

1. At the right end of the Home tab click the Styles Pane tool
2. Place the insertion point in an affected paragraph
3. At the right end of the Current Style field click the ▼ & select Modify Style
   1. Click the tool to remove the Italic attribute
   2. In the lower left corner of the Modify Style dialog clear the box for Automatically Update
4. Click OK to close the dialog window

You should find that any paragraphs which have that style applied are reformatted accordingly. However, each style which includes that attribute has to be modified individually.

Thank you for the quick response! I am using MS Word version 16.5 and I can’t see where the automatically update checkbox is. Every article/post I see that recommends this fix seems to be referring to a different version - I can’t find this option at all. Thank you!

The most likely reason is that the Paragraph Style applied to the affected paragraphs has the Automatically Update property checked in the Style's definition.

Why a sample file is important for troubleshooting. How to do it.