diff --git a/website/source/docs/commands/apply.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/commands/apply.html.markdown
index 8ae1e8ee9..c7e2c27da 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/commands/apply.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/commands/apply.html.markdown
@@ -49,5 +49,6 @@ The command-line flags are all optional. The list of available flags are:
 
 * `-var-file=foo` - Set variables in the Terraform configuration from
    a file. If "terraform.tfvars" is present, it will be automatically
-   loaded if this flag is not specified.
+   loaded first. Any files specified by `-var-file` override any values
+   in a "terraform.tfvars".