diff --git a/docs/source/command_line.rst b/docs/source/command_line.rst
index b5081f113f91..5b7f43fce598 100644
--- a/docs/source/command_line.rst
+++ b/docs/source/command_line.rst
@@ -937,6 +937,7 @@ in error messages.
 
     Use visually nicer output in error messages: use soft word wrap,
     show source code snippets, and show error location markers.
+    This is enabled by default. Use :option:`--no-pretty` to disable.
 
 .. option:: --no-color-output
 
diff --git a/mypy/main.py b/mypy/main.py
index c14bf16929cd..0e23f6ed87ad 100644
--- a/mypy/main.py
+++ b/mypy/main.py
@@ -1007,7 +1007,7 @@ def add_invertible_flag(
     )
     add_invertible_flag(
         "--pretty",
-        default=False,
+        default=True,
         help="Use visually nicer output in error messages:"
         " Use soft word wrap, show source code snippets,"
         " and show error location markers",
diff --git a/mypy/options.py b/mypy/options.py
index 0a7ddb112e27..46f26b7722d0 100644
--- a/mypy/options.py
+++ b/mypy/options.py
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ def __init__(self) -> None:
         self.hide_error_codes = False
         self.show_error_code_links = False
         # Use soft word wrap and show trimmed source snippets with error location markers.
-        self.pretty = False
+        self.pretty = True
         self.dump_graph = False
         self.dump_deps = False
         self.logical_deps = False