diff --git a/doc/man/man8/slapd.8 b/doc/man/man8/slapd.8
index f91a73233f..c99c3a9707 100644
--- a/doc/man/man8/slapd.8
+++ b/doc/man/man8/slapd.8
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ are not provided or not usable.
 .TP
 .BI \-d " debug\-level"
 Turn on debugging as defined by
-.I debug\-level.
+.IR debug\-level .
 If this option is specified, even with a zero argument,
 .B slapd
 will not fork or disassociate from the invoking terminal.  Some general