Word choice "errors" that aren't

Question

I keep seeing a wavy blue line under a correct word, and the hint tells me it's an incorrect word. For example, I may have the word "pride," as in the emotion, and that's what I do mean, but it will be flagged and I'll be told the word should be "pried," as in pried loose. I do not mean pried loose. I mean, for example, taking pride in your work, but the wavy blue line doesn't know that.

I have the language set to English. I have all other languages disabled. I have spelling and grammar check disabled. I do not have a single box checked in Grammar and Refinements.

It's still telling me I'm using the wrong word when in fact I am using the right one. What can I do about this?

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Moved from: Microsoft 365 Insider | Word | Windows

Answer 1

There are a number of related but disconnected grammar checks. A blue wavy underscore is a grammar indication.

You can select any word that is so displayed and mark it to not check spelling or grammar. This is similar to font formatting but is accessed through the language dialog. If you have language displayed in your Status Bar at the bottom of your Word window, you can click on that with the word selected and check the choice.

I assume that you are using the desktop application. Is that correct?

If so, what happens if you start Word in safe mode?
https://support.office.com/article/dedf944a-5f4b-4afb-a453-528af4f7ac72

Answer 2

Hi! What you’re seeing is usually contextual spelling / “frequently confused words” in Word. This feature can flag correctly spelled words (like pride) when it thinks a different homophone (like pried) would fit the sentence better, even if you’ve turned off traditional spelling/grammar options. To stop these suggestions, go to Word > File > Options > Proofing and under “When correcting spelling and grammar in Word” turn off Use contextual spelling (and Frequently confused words if you see it), then close and reopen the document to refresh the “as you type” checks.