diff --git a/argparse/argparse.py b/argparse/argparse.py
index f89cc4ce..94f6b03f 100644
--- a/argparse/argparse.py
+++ b/argparse/argparse.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class _Arg:
             assert False
 
 class ArgumentParser:
-    def __init__(self, *, description):
+    def __init__(self, *, description=""):
         self.description = description
         self.opt = []
         self.pos = []