diff --git a/crates/ruff/src/settings/options.rs b/crates/ruff/src/settings/options.rs
index 589f35ad32..0a7462cc8f 100644
--- a/crates/ruff/src/settings/options.rs
+++ b/crates/ruff/src/settings/options.rs
@@ -436,12 +436,13 @@ pub struct Options {
             target-version = "py37"
         "#
     )]
-    /// The Python version to target, e.g., when considering automatic code
-    /// upgrades, like rewriting type annotations.
+    /// The minimum Python version to target, e.g., when considering automatic
+    /// code upgrades, like rewriting type annotations.
     ///
-    /// If omitted, the target version will be inferred from the
-    /// `project.requires-python` field in the relevant `pyproject.toml`
-    /// (e.g., `requires-python = ">=3.8"`), if present.
+    /// If omitted, and Ruff is configured via a `pyproject.toml` file, the
+    /// target version will be inferred from its `project.requires-python`
+    /// field (e.g., `requires-python = ">=3.8"`). If Ruff is configured via
+    /// `ruff.toml` or `.ruff.toml`, no such inference will be performed.
     pub target_version: Option<PythonVersion>,
     #[option(
         default = r#"["TODO", "FIXME", "XXX"]"#,
diff --git a/ruff.schema.json b/ruff.schema.json
index 737f0fdc4a..7076a7c2c5 100644
--- a/ruff.schema.json
+++ b/ruff.schema.json
@@ -528,7 +528,7 @@
       ]
     },
     "target-version": {
-      "description": "The Python version to target, e.g., when considering automatic code upgrades, like rewriting type annotations.\n\nIf omitted, the target version will be inferred from the `project.requires-python` field in the relevant `pyproject.toml` (e.g., `requires-python = \">=3.8\"`), if present.",
+      "description": "The minimum Python version to target, e.g., when considering automatic code upgrades, like rewriting type annotations.\n\nIf omitted, and Ruff is configured via a `pyproject.toml` file, the target version will be inferred from its `project.requires-python` field (e.g., `requires-python = \">=3.8\"`). If Ruff is configured via `ruff.toml` or `.ruff.toml`, no such inference will be performed.",
       "anyOf": [
         {
           "$ref": "#/definitions/PythonVersion"