diff --git a/test/common/index.js b/test/common/index.js
index 8efd72fc7d162a..2ff682e95d1347 100644
--- a/test/common/index.js
+++ b/test/common/index.js
@@ -691,6 +691,11 @@ exports.expectsError = function expectsError(fn, settings, exact) {
     fn = undefined;
   }
   function innerFn(error) {
+    if (arguments.length !== 1) {
+      // Do not use `assert.strictEqual()` to prevent `util.inspect` from
+      // always being called.
+      assert.fail(`Expected one argument, got ${util.inspect(arguments)}`);
+    }
     assert.strictEqual(error.code, settings.code);
     const descriptor = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(error, 'message');
     assert.strictEqual(descriptor.enumerable,