diff --git a/_pytest/warnings.py b/_pytest/warnings.py
index 915862a9d..9e0307281 100644
--- a/_pytest/warnings.py
+++ b/_pytest/warnings.py
@@ -39,8 +39,9 @@ def pytest_addoption(parser):
         '-W', '--pythonwarnings', action='append',
         help="set which warnings to report, see -W option of python itself.")
     parser.addini("filterwarnings", type="linelist",
-                  help="Each line specifies warning filter pattern which would be passed"
-                  "to warnings.filterwarnings. Process after -W and --pythonwarnings.")
+                  help="Each line specifies a pattern for "
+                  "warnings.filterwarnings. "
+                  "Processed after -W and --pythonwarnings.")
 
 
 @contextmanager