From 9df19dedaf3c4f31382573c379cd0283599980ab Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Sam Brannen <104798+sbrannen@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:58:03 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Revise wording for PauseMode documentation

See gh-36044
---
 .../ctx-management/context-pausing.adoc       | 21 +++++++++----------
 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/framework-docs/modules/ROOT/pages/testing/testcontext-framework/ctx-management/context-pausing.adoc b/framework-docs/modules/ROOT/pages/testing/testcontext-framework/ctx-management/context-pausing.adoc
index cd7fb8526f7..7b0c30b5574 100644
--- a/framework-docs/modules/ROOT/pages/testing/testcontext-framework/ctx-management/context-pausing.adoc
+++ b/framework-docs/modules/ROOT/pages/testing/testcontext-framework/ctx-management/context-pausing.adoc
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ will be in a "stopped" state until the context is used again by a test. Note, ho
 that `SmartLifecycle` components can opt out of pausing by returning `false` from
 `SmartLifecycle#isPauseable()`.
 
-You can control whether unused application contexts should be paused by setting the
+You can control whether inactive application contexts should be paused by setting the
 `PauseMode` to one of the following supported values.
 
 `ALWAYS` :: Always pause inactive application contexts.
@@ -28,19 +28,18 @@ line or a build script by setting a JVM system property named
 an alternative, you can set the property via the
 xref:appendix.adoc#appendix-spring-properties[`SpringProperties`] mechanism.
 
-For example, if you encounter issues with `Lifecycle` components that cannot or should
-not opt out of pausing, or if you discover that your test suite runs more slowly due to
-the pausing and restarting of application contexts, you can disable the pausing feature
-by setting the `spring.test.context.cache.pause` property to `never`.
+For example, if you want inactive application contexts to always be paused, you can
+switch from the default `ON_CONTEXT_SWITCH` mode to `ALWAYS` by setting the
+`spring.test.context.cache.pause` system property to `always`.
 
 ```shell
--Dspring.test.context.cache.pause=never
+-Dspring.test.context.cache.pause=always
 ```
-
-Although `ON_CONTEXT_SWITCH` is the default pause mode, you still have the option to
-enable context pausing for all usage scenarios (including context switches) by setting
-the `spring.test.context.cache.pause` property to `always`.
+Similarly, if you encounter issues with `Lifecycle` components that cannot or should not
+opt out of pausing, or if you discover that your test suite runs more slowly due to the
+pausing and restarting of application contexts, you can disable the pausing feature by
+setting the `spring.test.context.cache.pause` system property to `never`.
 
 ```shell
--Dspring.test.context.cache.pause=always
+-Dspring.test.context.cache.pause=never
 ```