diff --git a/lib/cli/options.js b/lib/cli/options.js
index fcc619a9b3..a88dbfbf17 100644
--- a/lib/cli/options.js
+++ b/lib/cli/options.js
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
  */
 
 const fs = require('fs');
+const ansi = require('ansi-colors');
 const yargsParser = require('yargs-parser');
 const {types, aliases} = require('./run-option-metadata');
 const {ONE_AND_DONE_ARGS} = require('./one-and-dones');
@@ -16,7 +17,6 @@ const {loadConfig, findConfig} = require('./config');
 const findUp = require('find-up');
 const {deprecate} = require('../utils');
 const debug = require('debug')('mocha:cli:options');
-const {createMissingArgumentError} = require('../errors');
 const {isNodeFlag} = require('./node-flags');
 
 /**
@@ -131,7 +131,8 @@ const parse = (args = [], defaultValues = {}, ...configObjects) => {
     boolean: types.boolean.concat(nodeArgs.map(pair => pair[0]))
   });
   if (result.error) {
-    throw createMissingArgumentError(result.error.message);
+    console.error(ansi.red(`Error: ${result.error.message}`));
+    process.exit(1);
   }
 
   // reapply "=" arg values from above