Text Emphasis in Markdown
Learn how to format and emphasize text in your Markdown documents
Text Formatting in Markdown
Markdown provides several ways to emphasize text in your documents. You can make text bold, italic, strikethrough, and more using simple syntax. These formatting options can be used within paragraphs, lists, tables, and other Markdown elements.
Text emphasis helps you highlight important information, create visual hierarchy, and improve the readability of your content. In this guide, we'll cover the most common text formatting options in Markdown. You can practice these techniques in our Markdown Editor with live preview.
Bold Text
To make text bold in Markdown, surround it with double asterisks (**) or double underscores (__):
This is **bold text** using asterisks.\nThis is __bold text__ using underscores.This will render as:
This is bold text using asterisks.
This is bold text using underscores.
Italic Text
To italicize text in Markdown, surround it with single asterisks (*) or single underscores (_):
This is *italic text* using asterisks.\nThis is _italic text_ using underscores.This will render as:
This is italic text using asterisks.
This is italic text using underscores.
Strikethrough Text
To create strikethrough text, surround it with double tildes (~~):
This is ~~strikethrough text~~.This will render as:
This is strikethrough text.
Note: Strikethrough is part of GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) and may not be supported in all Markdown processors.
Interactive Bold, Italic, Strikethrough Markdown Generator
Markdown
Type your text here to see it with different emphasis styles.Preview
Try adding emphasis to your text using the buttons above, or by manually typing Markdown syntax. The preview will update automatically to show how your text will appear when rendered.
More Emphasis Examples
Highlighting
Some Markdown flavors support text highlighting with double equal signs:
This is ==highlighted text==.This may render as: highlighted text (depending on the Markdown processor)
Subscript
Some Markdown flavors support subscript with tilde characters:
H~2~O is water.This may render as: H2O is water.
Superscript
Some Markdown flavors support superscript with caret characters:
E=mc^2^ is Einstein's equation.This may render as: E=mc2 is Einstein's equation.
HTML Fallback
When Markdown syntax isn't available, you can use HTML:
This text is <mark>highlighted</mark> using HTML.This renders as: This text is highlighted using HTML.
Combining Emphasis Styles
You can combine different emphasis styles to create more complex formatting. Here are some examples:
Bold and Italic
This text is ***bold and italic***.\nThis is also ___bold and italic___.\nThis is **_bold and italic_** too.\nAnd this is __*also bold and italic*__.This will render as:
This text is bold and italic.
This is also bold and italic.
This is bold and italic too.
And this is also bold and italic.
Bold with Strikethrough
This is ~~**bold and strikethrough**~~.This will render as:
This is bold and strikethrough.
Complex Combinations
This is ***~~bold, italic, and strikethrough~~***.This will render as:
This is bold, italic, and strikethrough.
Note: Complex combinations may not render consistently across all Markdown processors. When in doubt, preview your document to ensure it appears as intended.
Best Practices for Text Emphasis
1. Be Consistent
Choose one style for each type of emphasis and stick with it throughout your document. For example, if you use asterisks for bold text, continue using asterisks rather than switching to underscores.
2. Don't Overuse Emphasis
When everything is emphasized, nothing stands out. Use text formatting sparingly to highlight truly important information. Too much bold or italic text can make your document harder to read.
3. Use Emphasis for Hierarchy
Create a visual hierarchy by using different emphasis styles for different levels of importance. For example, use bold for section titles, italic for important terms, and regular text for most content.
4. Consider Accessibility
Remember that some emphasis styles may not be perceivable by all users. Screen readers may announce bold or italic text differently, so don't rely solely on formatting to convey meaning.
5. Test Across Platforms
Different Markdown processors may render emphasis differently. Preview your document in the target platform to ensure your formatting appears as intended, especially when using advanced or combined styles.
6. Avoid Spaces in Emphasis Markers
Don't put spaces between the emphasis markers and the text being emphasized. For example, use **bold** instead of ** bold **, which might not render correctly.
Additional Resources
Related Markdown Elements
Explore other Markdown elements that work well with text emphasis:
External Resources
Learn more about Markdown emphasis from these resources: