The fastest way: select all comments and delete them at once

Open your document in Microsoft Word. Go to the Review tab at the top of the window. On the right side, you will see a button labeled Delete with a small arrow next to it. Click that arrow and select Delete All Comments in Document. Word will remove every comment at once.

This works the same way in Word on Windows, Mac, and the web version. If you only want to remove some comments — not all of them — use the method in the next section instead. The entire process takes about ten seconds and requires no confirmation step.

Removing individual comments one at a time

Click anywhere inside the comment you want to remove. The comment will highlight in the margin on the right side of the page. Go to the Review tab, click the Delete button (not the arrow this time), and that single comment disappears.

You can also right-click directly on the comment in the margin and select Delete Comment from the menu that appears. Both methods remove only that one comment and leave the rest untouched. This approach works well when you have a few comments scattered through the document and want to keep some while removing others.

Key Takeaways

  • Click the Delete arrow on the Review tab and choose Delete All Comments in Document to remove every comment from your document at once.
  • To remove a single comment, click inside it or right-click on it in the margin, then select delete.
  • Deleting a comment does not change the text of your document — only the comment itself disappears.
  • If you delete comments by mistake, use Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) when ready to undo the deletion.
  • Comments remain in your file when you save unless you manually delete them first.

What happens to the document text when you delete comments

Removing a comment does not change any of the actual words in your document. The text stays exactly as it was. Only the comment box and the marker that shows where the comment was attached will disappear.

This is different from accepting or rejecting tracked changes, which actually modifies the document text. Comments are separate — they are notes about the text, not part of the text itself. You can delete every comment in a document without altering a single word of the content.

Finding comments you might have missed

If your document is long, you might not see all the comments on the screen at once. Use the Next and Previous buttons on the Review tab to move from one comment to the next. Word will jump to each comment in order and highlight it for you.

You can also open the Comments pane on the right side of the screen by clicking the comment icon on the Review tab. This pane shows a list of all comments in your document, so you can see at a glance how many there are and what they say. The pane is especially useful in long documents where comments are spread across many pages.

Removing comments before sharing your document

Before you send your document to someone else, check whether you want to remove all comments or keep them. Comments are visible to anyone who opens the file, so they are not hidden or private. If your comments contain notes meant only for yourself or your team, the recipient will see them unless you delete first.

If you are sending a final version and do not want the recipient to see your notes or edits, delete all comments before you share. If you are sending a draft for feedback, you might want to keep them so the other person can see what you were thinking. This decision should happen before you hit send.

Comments in Word Online versus Word Desktop

The steps are the same whether you use Word on your computer or Word in a web browser. Go to Review, click the Delete arrow, and select Delete All Comments in Document. The button is in the same place and works the same way in both versions.

One difference: if you are working in Word Online and someone else has the document open at the same time, deleting a comment removes it for everyone when ready. On the desktop version, changes sync when you save. This means in a shared online document, your deletion is visible to collaborators right away, whereas on desktop they will not see the change until you save.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo deleting all comments at once?

Yes. Press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Cmd+Z on Mac right after you delete. Word will restore all the comments you just removed. If you have already saved the document, you cannot undo the deletion.

What if I delete a comment by mistake?

Use Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z when ready to undo. If you have already saved the document or closed it, the comment is gone and cannot be recovered from within Word. You would need to use a previous version of the file if your system backs up versions automatically.

Do comments get removed when I save the document?

No. Saving the document keeps comments in place. You have to manually delete them using the Review tab. Comments stay in the file until you remove them or someone else removes them.

Can I remove comments from a PDF that started as a Word document?

No. Once you convert a Word document to PDF, the comments do not transfer over. If you want to remove comments before converting to PDF, delete them in Word first, then save as PDF.

What if I want to keep some comments but delete others?

Delete them one at a time using the method in the second section. Click each comment you want to remove, go to Review, and click Delete. This lets you choose which comments stay and which ones go.