Document Editing Problems

How to Remove Ordinal Labels (1st, 2nd, etc.) in Word Documents

Chanuka Geekiyanage Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to delete ordinal numbers and their suffixes (such as 1st:, 9th:, 24th:) from a document without affecting the surrounding or following text.

How to Remove Ordinal Labels in Word Documents

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Editing a document that contains unwanted numbered lists or dates formatted manually with ordinal suffixes.
Observed behavior: The document contains manually typed ordinal labels that need to be removed in bulk while keeping the subsequent text entirely intact.

Before you start

Before running bulk replacement commands or macros, review the document to ensure the wildcard pattern won't inadvertently remove necessary text, and save a backup copy of your file.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Wildcard Find and Replace

The quickest and most efficient way to remove ordinal labels is by using Word's advanced Find and Replace feature with wildcards enabled.

Wildcards allow you to search for specific text patterns rather than exact words. This method helps you locate all ordinal labels at once without needing to search for them individually.

Open Find and Replace

Press Ctrl + H on your keyboard to open the Find and Replace dialog box.

Enable Wildcards

Click on the 'More' button to expand the search options, then check the box next to 'Use wildcards'.

Enter the Search Pattern

In the 'Find what' box, type exactly: [0-9]{1,}[a-z]{2,}: (This tells Word to look for any number followed by at least two letters and a colon).

Replace and Remove

Leave the 'Replace with' box completely empty. Click 'Replace All' to delete all matching ordinal labels from your document.

Customizing the search: If your ordinal labels do not end with a colon, simply omit the colon at the end of the wildcard string.

Solution 2

Automate Removal Using a VBA Macro

If you frequently need to clean up documents containing ordinal labels, creating and running a VBA macro can save you time by automating the process.

Efficient Document Editing

Easily Edit and Format Text with WPS Writer

WPS Office offers a powerful, free alternative for handling complex document editing tasks. You can seamlessly use advanced Find and Replace functions to clean up your text, exactly as you would in Microsoft Word.

1. Open your document: Launch WPS Writer and open the document containing the ordinal labels.
2. Launch Find and Replace: Press Ctrl + H to open the Find and Replace dialog.
3. Enable Wildcards: Click 'Advanced' (or the settings icon) and check 'Use wildcards'.
4. Execute the Replacement: Enter [0-9]{1,}[a-z]{2,}: into the search box, leave the replace box empty, and click 'Replace All'.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx, .doc) formats.Supports advanced Find and Replace, including full wildcard functionality.Lightweight, fast, and completely free to use for everyday editing.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the wildcard string [0-9]{1,}[a-z]{2,}: mean?

In wildcard searches, [0-9]{1,} looks for one or more numbers, [a-z]{2,} looks for two or more lowercase letters (like 'st', 'nd', 'rd', 'th'), and the colon matches the exact punctuation mark following them.

Can I remove ordinal numbers if they don't have a colon after them?

Yes. You can modify the search pattern to fit your document's formatting. Simply remove the colon from your wildcard search string and use [0-9]{1,}[a-z]{2,} in the 'Find what' box instead.

Why isn't 'Replace All' working when I use wildcards?

Ensure that you have actually checked the 'Use wildcards' option in the expanded Find and Replace menu. If it is unchecked, the software will search for the exact literal characters (brackets, numbers, and hyphens) of your query string rather than treating them as a pattern.

Will removing ordinal labels affect the rest of my numbered lists?

If your numbered lists are generated using the automatic numbering feature in Word or WPS Writer, the Find and Replace tool will not affect them. It only removes manually typed text that matches the wildcard criteria.

Document & File Issues