diff --git a/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst b/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst
index c394eee8eab..692d5cf60be 100644
--- a/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst
+++ b/Doc/distutils/apiref.rst
@@ -261,11 +261,6 @@ the full reference.
    |                        | from the source extensions if  |                           |
    |                        | not provided.                  |                           |
    +------------------------+--------------------------------+---------------------------+
-   | *optional*             | specifies that a build failure | a boolean                 |
-   |                        | in the extension should not    |                           |
-   |                        | abort the build process, but   |                           |
-   |                        | simply skip the extension.     |                           |
-   +------------------------+--------------------------------+---------------------------+
 
 
 .. class:: Distribution
diff --git a/Doc/distutils/setupscript.rst b/Doc/distutils/setupscript.rst
index cce78b03cd9..165bfcd7167 100644
--- a/Doc/distutils/setupscript.rst
+++ b/Doc/distutils/setupscript.rst
@@ -334,10 +334,6 @@ Other options
 
 There are still some other options which can be used to handle special cases.
 
-The :option:`optional` option is a boolean; if it is true,
-a build failure in the extension will not abort the build process, but
-instead simply not install the failing extension.
-
 The :option:`extra_objects` option is a list of object files to be passed to the
 linker. These files must not have extensions, as the default extension for the
 compiler is used.