Office Apps Crashing

How to Fix Microsoft Word Crashing or Freezing When Formatting Styles

John Wilson Oct 19, 2026 868 views

Question details

Users experience severe lag, unresponsiveness, or application crashes in Microsoft Word when attempting to use the Modify Style window or format styles.

How to Fix Microsoft Word Crashing or Freezing When Formatting Styles

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: Windows 10
Scenario: Modifying text styles, accessing the font drop-down menu in the Modify Style window, or updating style formatting options.
Observed behavior: Microsoft Word becomes highly unresponsive, experiencing delays of 10 seconds or more per action, and may occasionally crash or fail to save the document.

Before you start

Save your current document to prevent data loss and ensure you have administrative permissions on your PC to disable add-ins or run system updates.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable the Grammarly Add-in

Third-party add-ins, especially Grammarly, are frequently the root cause of style formatting crashes and delays in Microsoft Word.

Many users have reported that the Grammarly add-in conflicts with Word's native Modify Style window, causing severe input delays and crashes. Disabling or removing the add-in is the most effective way to resolve this conflict.

Open Word Options

Launch Microsoft Word. Click on 'File' in the top-left corner, then select 'Options' at the bottom of the menu.

Access Add-ins

In the Word Options dialog box, click on 'Add-ins' on the left sidebar. At the bottom of the window next to 'Manage:', select 'COM Add-ins' from the drop-down menu and click 'Go...'.

Disable Grammarly

Locate 'Grammarly' in the list of available add-ins. Uncheck the box next to it to disable it, then click 'OK'. Restart Microsoft Word and test the Modify Style feature again.

Testing the Fix: If Word runs smoothly after disabling Grammarly, keep the add-in disabled when doing heavy style formatting, or check for updates from the add-in developer.

Solution 2

Run Microsoft Word in Safe Mode

Starting Word in Safe Mode helps determine if other hidden extensions, add-ins, or corrupt customizations are causing the Modify Style window to freeze.

Solution 3

Install the Latest Windows and Office Updates

Updating your system can resolve underlying bugs related to Microsoft 365 configurations and compatibility issues.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Use WPS Office for Seamless and Stable Document Formatting

If Microsoft Word continues to crash or lag when modifying styles, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible alternative for editing and formatting documents without performance drops or freezing.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download and install WPS Office Free on your PC.
2. Open Your Document: Launch WPS Writer and open your existing .docx file directly.
3. Format Without Lag: Navigate to the Home tab and use the Styles pane to modify text styling quickly and without crashes.

Highly stable document formatting with zero lag in style menusFully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) file formatsLightweight application that runs smoothly even on older Windows systemsFree to use with a familiar, easy-to-navigate interface

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word freeze exactly when I open the Modify Style window?

This usually happens due to conflicting third-party add-ins interacting with Word's font rendering engine. Applications like Grammarly hook into text input menus, causing severe processing delays when the style configuration window attempts to load.

Can I format styles without opening the Modify Style window to prevent crashing?

Yes. You can bypass the window by selecting your text, applying formatting using the standard font options on the Home tab ribbon, and then right-clicking the style in the Styles gallery to choose 'Update [Style Name] to Match Selection'.

Will reinstalling Microsoft Word fix the style formatting crash?

A clean installation may reset corrupted configurations, but if the issue is caused by a third-party add-in or a pending Windows update, the problem will persist. Always try disabling add-ins and running Word in Safe Mode before attempting a full reinstallation.

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