Strikethrough renders text with a horizontal line through it, conventionally used to show that something has been removed, corrected, or is no longer applicable. It is written by wrapping the text with double ~~ on each side.
The price was ~~£45~~ £32 after the discount.
~~This item is no longer available.~~
The price was £45 £32 after the discount.
This item is no longer available.
Best Practice
- Use strikethrough to show a revision or retraction, not as a style choice — it carries a clear semantic meaning that something is superseded or cancelled.
- Keep stricken text short; long struck-through passages are hard to read and may confuse screen readers.
- For content that should simply be hidden or removed, delete it rather than striking it through — strikethrough is for cases where the reader benefits from seeing both the old and the new.
Notes
Single ~ vs Double ~~
In GitHub Flavored Markdown, strikethrough requires exactly double ~~. A single ~ on each side is not strikethrough in GitHub Flavored Markdown — it may be interpreted as subscript by flavours that support it (Pandoc, MMD), but produces no special output in GitHub Flavored Markdown.
Screen Reader Behaviour
Screen readers vary in how they handle strikethrough. Some announce the text as struck through; many read it as plain text without any indication. Avoid using strikethrough as the sole means of communicating important information.
Markdown Flavour Support
Defined in GitHub Flavored Markdown; supported by several other modern flavours.
Flavour Support Detail
| Flavour | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Original Markdown | No | Not defined in the original spec. |
| CommonMark | No | Not part of the CommonMark spec. |
| GitHub Flavored Markdown | Yes | Defined in GFM with ~~. |
| Pandoc Markdown | Yes | Supported with ~~; enabled via the strikeout extension. |
Practical Examples
- Showing a price reduction in a blog post: Display the original price struck through alongside the new one so readers immediately see the saving.
The weekend workshop is now ~~£120~~ £85 — a saving of £35 if you book before the end of the month.
The weekend workshop is now £120 £85 — a saving of £35 if you book before the end of the month.
- Correcting an error in a published note: Strike through the wrong information and add the correction inline, so readers who already saw the original can see what changed.
The walk starts at ~~9am~~ 10am — apologies for the earlier error.
The walk starts at 9am 10am — apologies for the earlier error.
- Crossing out items on a 'to try' list: Mark restaurants, books, or places as visited without removing them from the list entirely.
## Restaurants to Try
- ~~The Anchor — tried March, loved it~~
- The Walled Garden
- Brindisa Tapas