diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/desc.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/desc.rb
index 7e963e21cb..70088f5a99 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/desc.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/desc.rb
@@ -38,10 +38,6 @@ module Homebrew
 
       sig { override.void }
       def run
-        if !args.eval_all? && !Homebrew::EnvConfig.eval_all?
-          raise UsageError, "`brew desc` needs `--eval-all` passed or `HOMEBREW_EVAL_ALL` set!"
-        end
-
         search_type = if args.search?
           :either
         elsif args.name?
@@ -50,25 +46,29 @@ module Homebrew
           :desc
         end
 
-        if search_type.blank?
-          desc = {}
-          args.named.to_formulae_and_casks.each do |formula_or_cask|
-            case formula_or_cask
-            when Formula
-              desc[formula_or_cask.full_name] = formula_or_cask.desc
-            when Cask::Cask
-              description = formula_or_cask.desc.presence || Formatter.warning("[no description]")
-              desc[formula_or_cask.full_name] = "(#{formula_or_cask.name.join(", ")}) #{description}"
-            else
-              raise TypeError, "Unsupported formula_or_cask type: #{formula_or_cask.class}"
-            end
+        if search_type.present?
+          if !args.eval_all? && !Homebrew::EnvConfig.eval_all?
+            raise UsageError, "`brew desc --search` needs `--eval-all` passed or `HOMEBREW_EVAL_ALL` set!"
           end
-          Descriptions.new(desc).print
-        else
+
           query = args.named.join(" ")
           string_or_regex = Search.query_regexp(query)
-          Search.search_descriptions(string_or_regex, args, search_type:)
+          return Search.search_descriptions(string_or_regex, args, search_type:)
         end
+
+        desc = {}
+        args.named.to_formulae_and_casks.each do |formula_or_cask|
+          case formula_or_cask
+          when Formula
+            desc[formula_or_cask.full_name] = formula_or_cask.desc
+          when Cask::Cask
+            description = formula_or_cask.desc.presence || Formatter.warning("[no description]")
+            desc[formula_or_cask.full_name] = "(#{formula_or_cask.name.join(", ")}) #{description}"
+          else
+            raise TypeError, "Unsupported formula_or_cask type: #{formula_or_cask.class}"
+          end
+        end
+        Descriptions.new(desc).print
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/cmd/desc_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/cmd/desc_spec.rb
index 0bd9a87840..1ceb790260 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/cmd/desc_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/cmd/desc_spec.rb
@@ -9,9 +9,25 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::Cmd::Desc do
   it "shows a given Formula's description", :integration_test do
     setup_test_formula "testball"
 
-    expect { brew "desc", "--eval-all", "testball" }
+    expect { brew "desc", "testball" }
       .to output("testball: Some test\n").to_stdout
       .and not_to_output.to_stderr
       .and be_a_success
   end
+
+  it "errors when searching without --eval-all", :integration_test do
+    setup_test_formula "testball"
+
+    expect { brew "desc", "--search", "testball" }
+      .to output(/`brew desc --search` needs `--eval-all` passed or `HOMEBREW_EVAL_ALL` set!/).to_stderr
+      .and be_a_failure
+  end
+
+  it "successfully searches with --search --eval-all", :integration_test do
+    setup_test_formula "testball"
+
+    expect { brew "desc", "--search", "--eval-all", "ball" }
+      .to output(/testball: Some test/).to_stdout
+      .and not_to_output.to_stderr
+  end
 end