Strikethrough Text on Twitter / X

Twitter does not support markdown — but Unicode does

Unlike Discord or Slack, Twitter and X have never implemented a markdown system. Formatting symbols like **, ~~, or __ appear as literal characters in tweets. There is no bold, no italic, and no built-in strikethrough.

Unicode fills this gap. The Unicode standard includes combining characters — invisible code points that modify the rendering of the character before them. The combining long stroke overlay (U+0336) draws a horizontal line through any letter it follows. Because Twitter stores and transmits text as Unicode, these characters survive copy-pasting, reposts (formerly retweets), and quote-posts without modification. Every Twitter client — web, iOS, Android — renders them correctly.

Character counting on Twitter — a critical constraint

Twitter counts full-width characters (CJK) as 2 characters each but counts most combining characters as 1 each — the same cost as a regular ASCII character. The net effect is that a struck ASCII word costs exactly double its normal character count.

URLs are always collapsed to 23 characters regardless of actual URL length, which partially offsets the combining-character cost.

Strikethrough in tweets

To compose a tweet with struck text: generate the struck version of the words you want crossed out using the tool above, copy the result, open Twitter or X, start composing a new tweet, and paste. The tweet composer will show the text with the combining characters rendered — you will see the strikethrough in the preview before posting.

Popular tweet use cases for strikethrough:

• Humorous "corrections" of the author's own statement in the same tweet: "I l̶o̶v̶e̶ tolerate Mondays"
• Showing price changes or stock availability updates in the body text
• Quote-correcting misinformation posts with struck-through errors followed by corrections
• Opinion threads where one earlier point is visually retracted without deleting it
• Sarcasm and irony markers, especially popular in niche tech and finance communities

Strikethrough in Twitter display name

Your Twitter/X display name is the bold name shown above your handle. It accepts any Unicode text, including combining characters. Many accounts use special Unicode text styles in display names for branding — strikethrough is one of the most recognizable.

To update your display name: go to Profile → Edit Profile → Name. Paste the struck text from the generator. Save. The struck display name appears on your profile, in search results, in followers' home timelines, and in notifications — creating a visually distinctive identity.

The display name has a 50-character limit. With combining characters halving effective word capacity, keep struck display names brief — one or two struck words at most alongside your normal name text.

Strikethrough in Twitter bio

The Twitter bio field (160 characters) also accepts Unicode combining characters. Use sparingly given the tight character budget. A common pattern is to strike through an old job title, city, or description, followed by its replacement: "e̶n̶g̶i̶n̶e̶e̶r̶ founder · s̶a̶n̶ ̶f̶r̶a̶n̶c̶i̶s̶c̶o̶ NYC · b̶u̶i̶l̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ shipped".

Do struck tweets affect engagement?

Anecdotally, tweets using unusual Unicode text (including strikethrough) attract more engagement than plainly formatted equivalents, likely because they stand out in a fast-scrolling timeline. Several viral tweets each year involve the struck-text humour format. The visual novelty draws attention before users have consciously decided to read the tweet.

There is no published evidence that Twitter's algorithm treats combining-character text differently from plain text in ranking or distribution. The algorithm analyzes engagement signals (likes, reposts, replies, bookmarks) and ad relevance — not Unicode composition.