diff --git a/Doc/howto/argparse.rst b/Doc/howto/argparse.rst
index 76d8e6be429..a97d10cfe6b 100644
--- a/Doc/howto/argparse.rst
+++ b/Doc/howto/argparse.rst
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ Following is a result of running the code:
    $ python3 prog.py --help
    usage: prog.py [-h]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help  show this help message and exit
    $ python3 prog.py --verbose
    usage: prog.py [-h]
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ And running the code:
    positional arguments:
      echo
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help  show this help message and exit
    $ python3 prog.py foo
    foo
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ And we get:
    positional arguments:
      echo        echo the string you use here
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
 Now, how about doing something even more useful::
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ And the output:
    $ python3 prog.py --help
    usage: prog.py [-h] [--verbosity VERBOSITY]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help            show this help message and exit
      --verbosity VERBOSITY
                            increase output verbosity
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ And the output:
    $ python3 prog.py --help
    usage: prog.py [-h] [--verbose]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help  show this help message and exit
      --verbose   increase output verbosity
 
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ And here goes:
    $ python3 prog.py --help
    usage: prog.py [-h] [-v]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help     show this help message and exit
      -v, --verbose  increase output verbosity
 
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ And the output:
    positional arguments:
      square                display a square of a given number
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help            show this help message and exit
      -v {0,1,2}, --verbosity {0,1,2}
                            increase output verbosity
@@ -468,7 +468,8 @@ verbosity argument (check the output of ``python --help``)::
        print(answer)
 
 We have introduced another action, "count",
-to count the number of occurrences of a specific optional arguments:
+to count the number of occurrences of specific options.
+
 
 .. code-block:: shell-session
 
@@ -489,7 +490,7 @@ to count the number of occurrences of a specific optional arguments:
    positional arguments:
      square           display a square of a given number
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help       show this help message and exit
      -v, --verbosity  increase output verbosity
    $ python3 prog.py 4 -vvv
@@ -626,7 +627,7 @@ Output:
      x                the base
      y                the exponent
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help       show this help message and exit
      -v, --verbosity
    $ python3 prog.py 4 2 -v
@@ -750,7 +751,7 @@ but not both at the same time:
      x              the base
      y              the exponent
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help     show this help message and exit
      -v, --verbose
      -q, --quiet
diff --git a/Doc/library/argparse.rst b/Doc/library/argparse.rst
index 4542961d781..80e0f013df0 100644
--- a/Doc/library/argparse.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/argparse.rst
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ be run at the command line and provides useful help messages:
    positional arguments:
     N           an integer for the accumulator
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --sum       sum the integers (default: find the max)
 
@@ -217,14 +217,14 @@ The help for this program will display ``myprogram.py`` as the program name
    $ python myprogram.py --help
    usage: myprogram.py [-h] [--foo FOO]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo FOO   foo help
    $ cd ..
    $ python subdir/myprogram.py --help
    usage: myprogram.py [-h] [--foo FOO]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo FOO   foo help
 
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ To change this default behavior, another value can be supplied using the
    >>> parser.print_help()
    usage: myprogram [-h]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
 Note that the program name, whether determined from ``sys.argv[0]`` or from the
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ specifier.
    >>> parser.print_help()
    usage: myprogram [-h] [--foo FOO]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo FOO   foo of the myprogram program
 
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ arguments it contains::
    positional arguments:
     bar          bar help
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help   show this help message and exit
     --foo [FOO]  foo help
 
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ The default message can be overridden with the ``usage=`` keyword argument::
    positional arguments:
     bar          bar help
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help   show this help message and exit
     --foo [FOO]  foo help
 
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ various arguments::
 
    A foo that bars
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
 By default, the description will be line-wrapped so that it fits within the
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ argument to :class:`ArgumentParser`::
 
    A foo that bars
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
    And that's how you'd foo a bar
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ epilog_ texts in command-line help messages::
 
    this description was indented weird but that is okay
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
    likewise for this epilog whose whitespace will be cleaned up and whose words
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ should not be line-wrapped::
       exactly the way
       I want it
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
 :class:`RawTextHelpFormatter` maintains whitespace for all sorts of help text,
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@ default values to each of the argument help messages::
    positional arguments:
     bar         BAR! (default: [1, 2, 3])
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo FOO   FOO! (default: 42)
 
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ as the regular formatter does)::
    positional arguments:
      float
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help  show this help message and exit
      --foo int
 
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ older arguments with the same option string.  To get this behavior, the value
    >>> parser.print_help()
    usage: PROG [-h] [-f FOO] [--foo FOO]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     -f FOO      old foo help
     --foo FOO   new foo help
@@ -623,7 +623,7 @@ help will be printed:
    $ python myprogram.py --help
    usage: myprogram.py [-h] [--foo FOO]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo FOO   foo help
 
@@ -636,7 +636,7 @@ This can be achieved by passing ``False`` as the ``add_help=`` argument to
    >>> parser.print_help()
    usage: PROG [--foo FOO]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     --foo FOO  foo help
 
 The help option is typically ``-h/--help``. The exception to this is
@@ -649,7 +649,7 @@ the help options::
    >>> parser.print_help()
    usage: PROG [+h]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      +h, ++help  show this help message and exit
 
 
@@ -1203,7 +1203,7 @@ argument::
    positional arguments:
     bar     one of the bars to be frobbled
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo   foo the bars before frobbling
 
@@ -1221,7 +1221,7 @@ specifiers include the program name, ``%(prog)s`` and most keyword arguments to
    positional arguments:
     bar     the bar to frobble (default: 42)
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
 As the help string supports %-formatting, if you want a literal ``%`` to appear
@@ -1235,7 +1235,7 @@ setting the ``help`` value to ``argparse.SUPPRESS``::
    >>> parser.print_help()
    usage: frobble [-h]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
      -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
 
@@ -1262,7 +1262,7 @@ will be referred to as ``FOO``.  An example::
    positional arguments:
     bar
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo FOO
 
@@ -1279,7 +1279,7 @@ An alternative name can be specified with ``metavar``::
    positional arguments:
     XXX
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help  show this help message and exit
     --foo YYY
 
@@ -1297,7 +1297,7 @@ arguments::
    >>> parser.print_help()
    usage: PROG [-h] [-x X X] [--foo bar baz]
 
-   optional arguments:
+   options:
     -h, --help     show this help message and exit
     -x X X
     --foo bar baz
@@ -1701,7 +1701,7 @@ Sub-commands
          a     a help
          b     b help
 
-     optional arguments:
+     options:
        -h, --help  show this help message and exit
        --foo   foo help
 
@@ -1711,13 +1711,13 @@ Sub-commands
      positional arguments:
        bar     bar help
 
-     optional arguments:
+     options:
        -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
      >>> parser.parse_args(['b', '--help'])
      usage: PROG b [-h] [--baz {X,Y,Z}]
 
-     optional arguments:
+     options:
        -h, --help     show this help message and exit
        --baz {X,Y,Z}  baz help
 
@@ -1734,7 +1734,7 @@ Sub-commands
      >>> parser.parse_args(['-h'])
      usage:  [-h] {foo,bar} ...
 
-     optional arguments:
+     options:
        -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
      subcommands:
diff --git a/Lib/argparse.py b/Lib/argparse.py
index 2fb1da59f94..8a12dea7668 100644
--- a/Lib/argparse.py
+++ b/Lib/argparse.py
@@ -1719,7 +1719,7 @@ class ArgumentParser(_AttributeHolder, _ActionsContainer):
 
         add_group = self.add_argument_group
         self._positionals = add_group(_('positional arguments'))
-        self._optionals = add_group(_('optional arguments'))
+        self._optionals = add_group(_('options'))
         self._subparsers = None
 
         # register types
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_argparse.py b/Lib/test/test_argparse.py
index e98c15b11af..ec9711e4f6a 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_argparse.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_argparse.py
@@ -2078,7 +2078,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
               bar         bar help
               {1,2,3}     command help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               --foo       foo help
             '''))
@@ -2097,7 +2097,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
               bar         bar help
               {1,2,3}     command help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               ++foo       foo help
             '''))
@@ -2114,7 +2114,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
 
             main description
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help      show this help message and exit
               --non-breaking  help message containing non-breaking spaces shall not
                               wrap\N{NO-BREAK SPACE}at non-breaking spaces
@@ -2133,7 +2133,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
               bar         bar help
               {1,2,3}     command help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               +h, ++help  show this help message and exit
               ++foo       foo help
             '''))
@@ -2154,7 +2154,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
                 2         2 help
                 3         3 help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               --foo       foo help
             '''))
@@ -2179,7 +2179,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
             positional arguments:
               bar         bar help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               --foo       foo help
 
@@ -2203,7 +2203,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
             positional arguments:
               {a,b,c}     x help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               -w W        w help
             '''))
@@ -2217,7 +2217,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
             positional arguments:
               z           z help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               -y {1,2,3}  y help
             '''))
@@ -2249,7 +2249,7 @@ class TestAddSubparsers(TestCase):
             positional arguments:
               bar                   bar help
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help            show this help message and exit
               --foo                 foo help
 
@@ -2437,7 +2437,7 @@ class TestParentParsers(TestCase):
               a
               z
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               -b B
               --w W
@@ -2467,7 +2467,7 @@ class TestParentParsers(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(parser_help, textwrap.dedent('''\
             usage: {}{}[-h] [-w W] [-x X] [-y Y | -z Z]
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               -y Y
               -z Z
@@ -2512,7 +2512,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveGroupErrors(TestCase):
         expected = '''\
             usage: PROG [-h] [--foo | --bar] [--soup | --nuts]
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               --foo
               --bar
@@ -2597,7 +2597,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveSimple(MEMixin, TestCase):
         '''
     help = '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help   show this help message and exit
           --bar BAR    bar help
           --baz [BAZ]  baz help
@@ -2638,7 +2638,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveLong(MEMixin, TestCase):
     '''
     help = '''\
 
-    optional arguments:
+    options:
       -h, --help     show this help message and exit
       --abcde ABCDE  abcde help
       --fghij FGHIJ  fghij help
@@ -2674,7 +2674,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveFirstSuppressed(MEMixin, TestCase):
         '''
     help = '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           -y          y help
         '''
@@ -2711,7 +2711,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveManySuppressed(MEMixin, TestCase):
         '''
     help = '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
         '''
 
@@ -2754,7 +2754,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveOptionalAndPositional(MEMixin, TestCase):
         positional arguments:
           badger       BADGER
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help   show this help message and exit
           --foo        FOO
           --spam SPAM  SPAM
@@ -2793,7 +2793,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveOptionalsMixed(MEMixin, TestCase):
         '''
     help = '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           -x          x help
           -a          a help
@@ -2832,7 +2832,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveInGroup(MEMixin, TestCase):
         '''
     help = '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
 
         Titled group:
@@ -2877,7 +2877,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveOptionalsAndPositionalsMixed(MEMixin, TestCase):
           x           x help
           a           a help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           -y          y help
           -b          b help
@@ -2908,7 +2908,7 @@ class TestMutuallyExclusiveNested(MEMixin, TestCase):
 
     help = '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           -a A
           -b B
@@ -3226,7 +3226,7 @@ class TestHelpBiggerOptionals(HelpTestCase):
           foo            FOO HELP
           bar            BAR HELP
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help     show this help message and exit
           -v, --version  show program's version number and exit
           -x             X HELP
@@ -3271,7 +3271,7 @@ class TestShortColumns(HelpTestCase):
           bar
             BAR HELP
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help
             show this
             help
@@ -3321,7 +3321,7 @@ class TestHelpBiggerOptionalGroups(HelpTestCase):
           foo            FOO HELP
           bar            BAR HELP
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help     show this help message and exit
           -v, --version  show program's version number and exit
           -x             X HELP
@@ -3362,7 +3362,7 @@ class TestHelpBiggerPositionals(HelpTestCase):
           ekiekiekifekang  EKI HELP
           bar              BAR HELP
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help       show this help message and exit
           -x               X HELP
           --y Y            Y HELP
@@ -3409,7 +3409,7 @@ multiple
         positional arguments:
           yyy         normal y help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           -x XX       oddly formatted -x help
 
@@ -3449,7 +3449,7 @@ DD DD DD
 YHYH YHYH
                       YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YH
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           -x XX       XHH HXXHH HXXHH HXXHH HXXHH HXXHH HXXHH HXXHH HXXHH \
 HXXHH HXXHH
@@ -3492,7 +3492,7 @@ DD DD DD
 YHYH YHYH
                                 YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YHYH YH
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help            show this help message and exit
           -v, --version         show program's version number and exit
           -x XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
@@ -3554,7 +3554,7 @@ class TestHelpUsage(HelpTestCase):
           b                     b
           c                     c
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help            show this help message and exit
           -w W [W ...]          w
           -x [X ...]            x
@@ -3623,7 +3623,7 @@ class TestHelpUsageLongProg(HelpTestCase):
           a
           b
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           -w W
           -x X
@@ -3657,7 +3657,7 @@ class TestHelpUsageLongProgOptionsWrap(HelpTestCase):
           a
           b
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help            show this help message and exit
           -w WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
           -x XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
@@ -3720,7 +3720,7 @@ class TestHelpUsageOptionalsWrap(HelpTestCase):
           b
           c
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help            show this help message and exit
           -w WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
           -x XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
@@ -3755,7 +3755,7 @@ class TestHelpUsagePositionalsWrap(HelpTestCase):
           bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
           ccccccccccccccccccccccccc
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help            show this help message and exit
           -x X
           -y Y
@@ -3791,7 +3791,7 @@ class TestHelpUsageOptionalsPositionalsWrap(HelpTestCase):
           bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
           ccccccccccccccccccccccccc
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help            show this help message and exit
           -x XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
           -y YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
@@ -3817,7 +3817,7 @@ class TestHelpUsageOptionalsOnlyWrap(HelpTestCase):
         '''
     help = usage + '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help            show this help message and exit
           -x XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
           -y YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
@@ -3882,7 +3882,7 @@ class TestHelpVariableExpansion(HelpTestCase):
           spam           spam PROG None
           badger         badger PROG 0.5
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help     show this help message and exit
           -x X           x PROG None int %
           -y             y PROG 42 XXX
@@ -3907,7 +3907,7 @@ class TestHelpVariableExpansionUsageSupplied(HelpTestCase):
         ''')
     help = usage + '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
         '''
     version = ''
@@ -3939,7 +3939,7 @@ class TestHelpSuppressUsage(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           spam        spam help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO   foo help
         '''
@@ -3986,7 +3986,7 @@ class TestHelpSuppressOptionalGroup(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           spam        spam help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO   foo help
         '''
@@ -4007,7 +4007,7 @@ class TestHelpSuppressPositional(HelpTestCase):
         '''
     help = usage + '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO   foo help
         '''
@@ -4027,7 +4027,7 @@ class TestHelpRequiredOptional(HelpTestCase):
         '''
     help = usage + '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO   foo help
         '''
@@ -4048,7 +4048,7 @@ class TestHelpAlternatePrefixChars(HelpTestCase):
         '''
     help = usage + '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           ^^foo              foo help
           ;b BAR, ;;bar BAR  bar help
         '''
@@ -4072,7 +4072,7 @@ class TestHelpNoHelpOptional(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           spam       spam help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           --foo FOO  foo help
         '''
     version = ''
@@ -4095,7 +4095,7 @@ class TestHelpNone(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           spam
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO
         '''
@@ -4119,7 +4119,7 @@ class TestHelpTupleMetavar(HelpTestCase):
         '''
     help = usage + '''\
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help        show this help message and exit
           -w W1 [W2 ...]    w
           -x [X1 [X2 ...]]  x
@@ -4163,7 +4163,7 @@ class TestHelpRawText(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           spam        spam help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO       foo help should also
                       appear as given here
@@ -4212,7 +4212,7 @@ class TestHelpRawDescription(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           spam        spam help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO   foo help should not retain this odd formatting
 
@@ -4254,7 +4254,7 @@ class TestHelpArgumentDefaults(HelpTestCase):
           spam        spam help
           badger      badger help (default: wooden)
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO   foo help - oh and by the way, None
           --bar       bar help (default: False)
@@ -4279,7 +4279,7 @@ class TestHelpVersionAction(HelpTestCase):
 
         description
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help     show this help message and exit
           -V, --version  show program's version number and exit
         '''
@@ -4305,7 +4305,7 @@ class TestHelpVersionActionSuppress(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           spam        spam help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help  show this help message and exit
           --foo FOO   foo help
         '''
@@ -4331,7 +4331,7 @@ class TestHelpSubparsersOrdering(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           {a,b,c,d,e}
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help     show this help message and exit
           -v, --version  show program's version number and exit
         '''
@@ -4372,7 +4372,7 @@ class TestHelpSubparsersWithHelpOrdering(HelpTestCase):
             d            d subcommand help
             e            e subcommand help
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help     show this help message and exit
           -v, --version  show program's version number and exit
         '''
@@ -4404,7 +4404,7 @@ class TestHelpMetavarTypeFormatter(HelpTestCase):
         positional arguments:
           int
 
-        optional arguments:
+        options:
           -h, --help      show this help message and exit
           -b custom_type
           -c SOME FLOAT
@@ -4596,7 +4596,7 @@ class TestConflictHandling(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(parser.format_help(), textwrap.dedent('''\
             usage: PROG [-h] [-x X]
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help  show this help message and exit
               -x X        NEW X
             '''))
@@ -4606,7 +4606,7 @@ class TestConflictHandling(TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(parser.format_help(), textwrap.dedent('''\
             usage: PROG [-h] [-x X] [--spam NEW_SPAM]
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help       show this help message and exit
               -x X             NEW X
               --spam NEW_SPAM
@@ -5337,7 +5337,7 @@ class TestWrappingMetavar(TestCase):
             usage: this_is_spammy_prog_with_a_long_name_sorry_about_the_name
                    [-h] [--proxy <http[s]://example:1234>]
 
-            optional arguments:
+            options:
               -h, --help            show this help message and exit
               --proxy <http[s]://example:1234>
             '''))
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2020-12-19-12-33-38.bpo-9694.CkKK9V.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2020-12-19-12-33-38.bpo-9694.CkKK9V.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..723955270d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2020-12-19-12-33-38.bpo-9694.CkKK9V.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Argparse help no longer uses the confusing phrase, "optional arguments".
+It uses "options" instead.