Office Settings & Configuration

Fix Word Spell Check Showing No Suggestions for Misspelled Words

Huda Qurayshi Oct 22, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to restore spelling suggestions in Microsoft Word when misspelled words are highlighted but no corrections appear in the right-click menu.

How to Fix Word Spell Check Showing No Suggestions for Misspelled Words

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Proofreading or editing a document where spell check identifies an error but does not offer an alternative spelling.
Observed behavior: Misspelled words are marked with a red wavy underline, but right-clicking the word displays an empty or missing list of suggested corrections.

Before you start

Type a deliberately simple misspelled word (like 'teh' instead of 'the') to test if the spell checker is completely broken or if it simply cannot recognize a specific, severely misspelled word.

Solution 1Recommended

Verify and Update Proofing Language Settings

Ensure that Microsoft Word is checking the text against the correct language dictionary.

If your text is accidentally set to a different language than your default dictionary, Word will still flag unrecognized words but won't be able to generate appropriate spelling suggestions from the correct vocabulary.

Select the Document Text

Press Ctrl+A to select your entire document, or highlight the specific paragraph where the spell check issue is occurring.

Open the Language Menu

Navigate to the 'Review' tab on the top ribbon, click on the 'Language' button, and select 'Set Proofing Language' from the drop-down menu.

Choose the Correct Language

Select your intended language from the list. Ensure that the 'Do not check spelling or grammar' checkbox is completely cleared (not checked or shaded), then click 'OK'.

Verify and Update Proofing Language Settings

Set Default Language: If you want this language to apply to all future documents, click the 'Set As Default' button before closing the language dialog box.

Solution 2

Enable Connected Experiences for Cloud Suggestions

Turn on Microsoft's cloud-backed features to improve Word's ability to offer spelling suggestions.

Solution 3

Manually Correct Severely Misspelled Words

Address situations where the word deviates too far from known vocabulary for the algorithm to guess.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Try WPS Office for Reliable Spell Checking and Document Editing

If Microsoft Word's spell check continues to fail or dictionary issues persist, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible alternative with a robust, built-in spell checker that reliably proofreads your documents.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx, .doc) file formats without formatting loss.Built-in, reliable spell checker with extensive multi-language dictionary support.Free to use, lightweight, and features a familiar user interface for seamless migration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word underline words but not offer corrections?

This typically occurs if the word is so heavily misspelled that it doesn't match any known word in Word's dictionary, or if your document's proofing language is mismatched with the text.

Will enabling 'Connected Experiences' immediately fix the missing suggestions?

Enabling 'Connected Experiences' allows Word to use cloud-based analysis for better suggestions, but it will not fix the issue if your proofing language is set incorrectly or if the word is completely unrecognizable.

How do I add a new word so Word stops highlighting it as an error?

If the word is actually spelled correctly (such as a specific name or technical term), right-click the red-underlined word and select 'Add to Dictionary'. Word will save it and stop flagging it in the future.

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