Microsoft Word has a useful feature that checks for frequently confused words and highlights them so you can correct potential errors. However, some users find this feature annoying if Word is flagging words that are actually correct. Here’s how to turn off the “Frequently confused words” option in Word.
What Are Frequently Confused Words?
Frequently confused words are word pairs that native English speakers often mix up. Examples include:
- Affect vs. effect
- There vs. their vs. they’re
- Your vs. you’re
- Its vs. it’s
- Loose vs. lose
- Passed vs. past
- Accept vs. except
Microsoft Word has a built-in list of about 150 frequently confused word pairs. When you have the “Frequently confused words” option enabled, Word will check your document for these words and highlight any instances where you may have used the wrong word.
Why You Might Want to Disable This Feature
The “Frequently confused words” feature can be helpful for catching typos and errors. However, it’s not foolproof. Sometimes Word will flag a word as incorrect when it’s actually right.
Here are some reasons you may want to turn this feature off:
- Word incorrectly flags words as errors. The accuracy of the confused words checker depends on the context. Sometimes Word doesn’t have enough context to determine if you’ve used the right word or not.
- It highlights too many false positives. If you find Word is highlighting a lot of correct words, it can be distracting and annoying.
- You know the differences between these words. If you have a strong grasp on the commonly confused words, seeing the false positives can break your concentration while writing.
- You want to focus on other types of errors first. The grammar and spell check features may be more useful to focus on instead.
How to Disable the Frequently Confused Words Check
It only takes a few clicks to disable the “Frequently confused words” option:
- Open your Word document.
- Click the File tab.
- Click Options.
- Click Proofing.
- Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, click Settings.
- Uncheck the box next to Frequently confused words.
- Click OK to save your changes.
Now when you type in Word, it will no longer check for frequently confused words or highlight them as potential errors.
How to turn off frequently confused words in Word
Tips for Catching Confused Word Errors
Just because you disabled the automatic checker doesn’t mean you should ignore those tricky word pairs altogether. Here are some tips to catch errors on your own:
Run the spelling and grammar check. Even with the confused words feature off, Word will still catch some mixups based on the context. Pay attention to any flagged grammar errors.
Proofread slowly and carefully. Actively look for the commonly confused words you struggle with as you read through your document. Check any instances that give you pause.
Use other proofreading tools. Try using the Microsoft Editor plugin or Grammarly to get a second opinion on confusing words. These tools provide an additional check to complement Word’s built-in tools.
Look words up in the dictionary. If you’re unsure about a specific word’s usage, look it up on Merriam-Webster.com or Dictionary.com to confirm.
Read sections aloud. Your ears can sometimes catch errors your eyes miss. Reading parts of your document out loud focuses your attention on each word.
Customizing AutoCorrect for Confusing Words
Instead of turning the automatic checker off completely, you can also customize the AutoCorrect feature in Word to automatically replace commonly confused words you mix up frequently.
For example, if you often type “effect” when you mean “affect,” you can set up an AutoCorrect entry that will automatically change “effect” to “affect” as you type.
Here’s how to add words to AutoCorrect:
- Go to the File tab > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options.
- In the Replace field, type the word you commonly misspell.
- In the With field, type the correct spelling of that word.
- Click Add.
Now whenever you type the misspelled word, AutoCorrect will automatically replace it with the correct spelling.
How to customize AutoCorrect in Word
Conclusion
The “Frequently confused words” feature in Word helps catch errors, but it also highlights a lot of correct words for some users. If you find this feature to be more of a distraction than a help when writing, now you know how to easily disable it. Just be sure to continue proofreading carefully, using other tools to catch any word mixups the Word spelling and grammar check misses.
