diff --git a/command/delete.go b/command/delete.go
index c5105bbc7..50e9640e9 100644
--- a/command/delete.go
+++ b/command/delete.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func (c *DeleteCommand) Run(args []string) int {
 		return 1
 	}
 
-	c.Ui.Output(fmt.Sprintf("Success! Deleted '%s'", path))
+	c.Ui.Output(fmt.Sprintf("Success! Deleted '%s' if it existed", path))
 	return 0
 }
 
diff --git a/website/source/intro/getting-started/first-secret.html.md b/website/source/intro/getting-started/first-secret.html.md
index 7e6c56c2f..0b85abb70 100644
--- a/website/source/intro/getting-started/first-secret.html.md
+++ b/website/source/intro/getting-started/first-secret.html.md
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ and delete it. We can do this with `vault delete`:
 
 ```
 $ vault delete secret/hello
-Success! Deleted 'secret/hello'
+Success! Deleted 'secret/hello' if it existed
 ```
 
 ## Next