diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/ExitUtil.java b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/ExitUtil.java
index 8adcb13ac43..a4af34666ef 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/ExitUtil.java
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/util/ExitUtil.java
@@ -85,9 +85,10 @@ public static void terminate(int status, String msg) throws ExitException {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Like {@link terminate(int, String)} but takes an exception to
+   * Like {@link terminate(int, String)} but uses the given throwable to
+   * initialize the ExitException.
    * @param status
-   * @param t Exception
+   * @param t throwable used to create the ExitException
    * @throws ExitException if System.exit is disabled for test purposes
    */
   public static void terminate(int status, Throwable t) throws ExitException {