Can I increase the spacing between bullet points without increasing the overall line spacing?

Question

Can I increase the spacing between bullet points without increasing the overall line spacing?

David G 35

I know that I could use double line spacing to space out bullet points. However

when bullet point text overlaps the end of the and wraps onto the next one, that is also double spaced which doesn't help. I'm aware that I can use Shift +Enter to add additional line spacing without adding additional bullet points but is there a way to do this more automatically?

For example, in the screenshot attached (job interview questions) I want a space between each bullet point but to keep the space in between the line "Tell us about a situation..." and the line "resolve an issue" as is.

Does Word have this feature?

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Charles Kenyon 170.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-28T23:23:55.3533333+00:00

This is paragraph, not line, spacing.
See https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/BasicConceptsWord.htm

Answer accepted by question author

WordWizzard 1,220

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David G 35 Reputation points

2026-08-29T07:48:49.2433333+00:00

Aha! seems that unchecking the box makes the difference.
WordWizzard 1,220 Reputation points

2026-08-29T15:02:04.0733333+00:00

Yes, as the song, "House of the Rising Sun", by the Animals back in the mid 60's says,
"it's been the ruin of many a poor boy"
:)

1 additional answer

Your answer

Charles Kenyon 170.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-28T23:23:55.3533333+00:00

This is paragraph, not line, spacing.
See https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/BasicConceptsWord.htm
David G 35 Reputation points

2026-08-29T07:48:49.2433333+00:00

Aha! seems that unchecking the box makes the difference.
WordWizzard 1,220 Reputation points

2026-08-29T15:02:04.0733333+00:00

Yes, as the song, "House of the Rising Sun", by the Animals back in the mid 60's says,
"it's been the ruin of many a poor boy"
:)

Answer 1

Yes. In Word, the way to add space between bullet items without increasing the spacing of wrapped lines inside the same bullet is to adjust paragraph spacing, not line spacing.

Steps:

Select the entire bulleted list.
Go to Home > Paragraph > Line Spacing.
Choose Line Spacing Options.
In the Paragraph dialog box, on Indents and Spacing, under Spacing, clear Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style.
Then increase the spacing between list items using the paragraph spacing settings.

If only the distance between the bullet and its text needs adjustment, that is a separate setting:

Click a bullet to select the bullets in the list.
Right-click and choose Adjust List Indents.
Change Bullet position or Text indent as needed.

This keeps wrapped lines within the same bullet at normal spacing while adding extra space between bullet points.