diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index 7c1b9bd9b9..a3bae89f64 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -1182,8 +1182,10 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	} else if (is_directory(merge_dir())) {
 		strbuf_reset(&buf);
 		strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s/rewritten", merge_dir());
-		if (is_directory(buf.buf)) {
-			die("`rebase -p` is no longer supported");
+		if (!(action == ACTION_ABORT) && is_directory(buf.buf)) {
+			die("`rebase --preserve-merges` (-p) is no longer supported.\n"
+			"Use `git rebase --abort` to terminate current rebase.\n"
+			"Or downgrade to v2.33, or earlier, to complete the rebase.");
 		} else {
 			strbuf_reset(&buf);
 			strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s/interactive", merge_dir());