diff --git a/serde_core/Cargo.toml b/serde_core/Cargo.toml
index 06564343..79aca909 100644
--- a/serde_core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/serde_core/Cargo.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ version = "1.0.219"
 authors = ["Erick Tryzelaar <erick.tryzelaar@gmail.com>", "David Tolnay <dtolnay@gmail.com>"]
 build = "build.rs"
 categories = ["encoding", "no-std", "no-std::no-alloc"]
-description = "Core functionalities and abstractions for the Serde serialization/deserialization framework"
+description = "Serde traits only, with no support for derive -- use the `serde` crate instead"
 documentation = "https://docs.rs/serde_core"
 edition = "2021"
 homepage = "https://serde.rs"