words randomly split to next line

Question

In Microsoft 365, the words are randomly splitting to the next line

Answer 1

Disable Allow Latin text to wrap in the middle of a word for the affected text; this Word for Windows paragraph option directly controls whether Latin words can split between arbitrary letters.^1^

Disable mid-word wrapping

1. Open the affected document and press Ctrl+A to select all text.
2. Go to Home.
3. In the Paragraph group, click the small dialog-box launcher in the lower-right corner.
4. Open the Asian Typography tab.
5. Clear Allow Latin text to wrap in the middle of a word.
6. Select OK and check whether words now move intact to the next line.

Word’s WordWrap paragraph property represents this same behavior: when enabled, Word can wrap Latin text in the middle of a word.^2^

The Asian Typography tab may appear only when East Asian language support is installed or enabled. If the tab is absent, move to the checks below rather than changing unrelated line-spacing or pagination settings.

Determine whether the issue is document-specific

Create a new blank document and type a long English sentence until it wraps:

• Only the original document is affected: the setting or characters are stored in that document. Apply the steps above to all its text.
• The blank document is also affected: test the font as described below and note which Word version is shown under File → Account → About Word.

Check for hidden nonbreaking spaces

A similar mid-word wrapping problem can occur when imported or pasted text contains nonbreaking spaces.

1. Go to Home → ¶ Show/Hide.
2. Inspect an affected line. A nonbreaking space appears as a small degree symbol rather than the normal space marker.
3. Select the affected text.
4. Press Ctrl+H and replace the unwanted nonbreaking spaces with ordinary spaces.

Microsoft Q&A identifies both nonbreaking spaces and a damaged font as possible causes of this exact symptom.^3^

Test the font

If the setting is already disabled and no nonbreaking spaces appear:

1. Select an affected paragraph.
2. From Home → Font, temporarily choose a standard font such as Arial.
3. If wrapping becomes normal, replace or reinstall the original font rather than reformatting the entire document immediately.

Do not enable automatic hyphenation as a fix for this symptom: hyphenation intentionally permits words to divide at valid hyphenation points, while the reported issue is an arbitrary split between letters.

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References

1. How do you workaround the Asian Typography bug for Latin text wrapping ...
2. ParagraphFormat.WordWrap property (Word)
3. When I am working on a document in Word, the word keeps breaking to the next line instead of starting a new one. How do I fix this? - Microsoft Q&A

Answer 2

If a word doesn't fit in between the margins, for example in a narrow table cell, it may break unexpectedly, unless you enable hyphenation. If that isn't a possibility here, a second possibility is that the document is damaged, and a third possibility is that a non-Latin text format has been defined for the document. A fourth possibility is excessive nonbreaking spaces in the text (already mentioned by the AI reply).