diff --git a/doc/api/util.md b/doc/api/util.md
index b702d5adba3a2c..6cab40db100b4a 100644
--- a/doc/api/util.md
+++ b/doc/api/util.md
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@ changes:
     negative to show no elements. **Default:** `100`.
   * `maxStringLength` {integer} Specifies the maximum number of characters to
     include when formatting. Set to `null` or `Infinity` to show all elements.
-    Set to `0` or negative to show no characters. **Default:** `Infinity`.
+    Set to `0` or negative to show no characters. **Default:** `10000`.
   * `breakLength` {integer} The length at which input values are split across
     multiple lines. Set to `Infinity` to format the input as a single line
     (in combination with `compact` set to `true` or any number >= `1`).
diff --git a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
index f59e7db3a9782c..fe21854e16aa7f 100644
--- a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
+++ b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ const inspectDefaultOptions = ObjectSeal({
   customInspect: true,
   showProxy: false,
   maxArrayLength: 100,
-  maxStringLength: Infinity,
+  maxStringLength: 10000,
   breakLength: 80,
   compact: 3,
   sorted: false,
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js b/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
index fab2a12a00ddf7..b4443984cbc263 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
@@ -2782,6 +2782,7 @@ assert.strictEqual(
 
 {
   const x = 'a'.repeat(1e6);
+  assert(util.inspect(x).endsWith('... 990000 more characters'));
   assert.strictEqual(
     util.inspect(x, { maxStringLength: 4 }),
     "'aaaa'... 999996 more characters"