diff --git a/src/libcmd/repl.cc b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
index 00fca4e0c..162f048af 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/repl.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
@@ -739,7 +739,7 @@ void NixRepl::loadFlake(const std::string & flakeRefS)
 
     auto flakeRef = parseFlakeRef(fetchSettings, flakeRefS, cwd.string(), true);
     if (evalSettings.pureEval && !flakeRef.input.isLocked(fetchSettings))
-        throw Error("cannot use ':load-flake' on locked flake reference '%s' (use --impure to override)", flakeRefS);
+        throw Error("cannot use ':load-flake' on unlocked flake reference '%s' (use --impure to override)", flakeRefS);
 
     Value v;