diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/cbook/deprecation.py b/lib/matplotlib/cbook/deprecation.py
index a29b42072305..2c0b3d5e897e 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/cbook/deprecation.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/cbook/deprecation.py
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
         old_doc = inspect.cleandoc(old_doc or '').strip('\n')
 
         message = message.strip()
-        new_doc = ('{old_doc}\n'
+        new_doc = ('[*Deprecated*] {old_doc}\n'
                    '\n'
                    '.. deprecated:: {since}\n'
                    '   {message}'