diff --git a/tests/test_update_version_next.py b/tests/test_update_version_next.py
index 10d197a6..229ae11a 100644
--- a/tests/test_update_version_next.py
+++ b/tests/test_update_version_next.py
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 
 .. deprecated-removed:: next 4.0
 
+.. soft-deprecated:: next
+
 whitespace:
 
 ..   versionchanged:: next
diff --git a/update_version_next.py b/update_version_next.py
index c97f18d5..6fd59f28 100755
--- a/update_version_next.py
+++ b/update_version_next.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
     r"""
         (?P<before>
             \s*\.\.\s+
-            (version(added|changed|removed)|deprecated(-removed)?)
+            (version(added|changed|removed)|deprecated(-removed)?|soft-deprecated)
             \s*::\s*
         )
         next