How to Delete a Comment in Microsoft Word (Every Method Explained)

Comments in Word are incredibly useful during editing and collaboration — but at some point, they need to go. Whether you're cleaning up a document before sharing it, resolving feedback, or just decluttering your view, deleting comments is a task every Word user runs into. The process is straightforward, but there are several ways to do it depending on how many comments you need to remove and which version of Word you're using.

What Are Comments in Word, and Why Delete Them?

When someone adds a comment in Word, it appears as an annotation in the margin or in a reviewing pane — linked to a specific section of text. Comments are part of Word's Track Changes and review workflow, designed to let collaborators leave notes without altering the main document.

You'll want to delete comments when:

• A document is finished and ready for final distribution
• Feedback has been addressed and the thread is no longer relevant
• You're presenting or printing and don't want comment markup visible
• You're consolidating edits from multiple reviewers

Hiding comments (using the View or Review settings) is not the same as deleting them. Hidden comments still exist in the file and can be seen by recipients. Deleting removes them entirely.

How to Delete a Single Comment in Word

This is the most common task — removing one specific comment after you've read or resolved it.

Steps:

1. Click on the comment you want to delete in the margin (or click on the highlighted text it's attached to)
2. Right-click the comment bubble
3. Select "Delete Comment" from the context menu

Alternatively, with the comment selected:

• Go to the Review tab in the ribbon
• In the Comments group, click the Delete button (the dropdown arrow gives you additional options)

This removes just that one comment without affecting others in the document.

How to Delete All Comments at Once 🗑️

If you've finished a full review pass and want to wipe all comments in one go:

1. Go to the Review tab
2. Click the dropdown arrow on the Delete button (in the Comments group)
3. Select "Delete All Comments in Document"

Every comment — from every reviewer — is removed immediately. There's no confirmation dialog, but you can undo with Ctrl + Z if needed.

How to Delete Comments from a Specific Reviewer

Word doesn't offer a direct one-click option to filter by reviewer and delete only their comments, but you can work around this:

1. Go to Review → Show Markup → Specific People
2. Uncheck all reviewers except the one you want to manage
3. With only their comments visible, use Delete → Delete All Shown Comments

This removes only the comments currently displayed — effectively targeting one reviewer's notes without touching others.

Resolving vs. Deleting: What's the Difference?

Newer versions of Word (Microsoft 365 and Word 2019+) introduced the option to Resolve a comment rather than delete it. A resolved comment stays in the document but is visually grayed out, marking it as addressed without permanently removing it.

If your goal is a clean, comment-free document, delete is the right move. Resolve is better for collaborative workflows where you want a record that feedback was acknowledged.

Deleting Comments in Word on Mac

The process on Word for Mac mirrors the Windows version closely:

• Right-click a comment → Delete Comment
• Or use the Review tab → Delete dropdown → Delete All Comments in Document

The ribbon layout is nearly identical, though keyboard shortcut behavior can differ slightly depending on macOS version and keyboard configuration.

Deleting Comments in Word on Mobile (iOS and Android)

The Word mobile app supports comment deletion, though the interface is more limited:

1. Tap the highlighted text linked to a comment
2. Tap the comment to open it
3. Tap the three-dot menu (⋯) on the comment
4. Select Delete

Bulk deletion (removing all comments at once) may not be available depending on your app version. For heavy comment management, the desktop version is significantly more capable.

Why Comments Might Reappear or Not Delete

A few situations can make comment deletion behave unexpectedly:

• Document is in Protected Mode — If the document has editing restrictions enabled, you may not be able to delete comments. Go to Review → Restrict Editing to check.
• Track Changes is recording deletions — In some configurations, deleting a comment while Track Changes is active may log the action rather than immediately remove it. Accept all changes afterward to finalize.
• Shared/co-authored documents — In real-time collaboration (Word Online or OneDrive-synced files), other users may have comment permissions that affect what you can delete.

Checking for Hidden Comments Before Sharing 💡

Before sending a document, it's worth confirming no comments remain — especially in files that have passed through multiple reviewers. Go to:

File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document

The Document Inspector scans for hidden data including comments, tracked changes, and personal information. It gives you the option to remove all of it in one step, which is more thorough than manually scanning the document.

How useful this process is in practice depends on your specific setup — whether you're working in a corporate environment with shared review workflows, collaborating through Word Online, using an older standalone version of Office, or managing documents solo. The version of Word you have, your file-sharing context, and whether Track Changes is part of your workflow all shape which method works best and which edge cases you're likely to encounter.