diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index faa1f2d2..c948b2bf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -338,7 +338,9 @@ require('dotenv').config({ path: '/custom/path/to/.env' })
 
 By default, `config` will look for a file called .env in the current working directory.
 
-Pass in multiple files as an array, and they will be parsed in order and combined. The first value set for a variable will win. There is no overriding. The combined result will then be applied to `process.env` (or `options.processEnv`, if set). For this final application the `options.override` flag is respected.
+Pass in multiple files as an array, and they will be parsed in order and combined with `process.env` (or `option.processEnv`, if set). The first value set for a variable will win, unless the `options.override` flag is set, in which case the last value set will win.  If a value already exists in `process.env` and the `options.override` flag is NOT set, no changes will be made to that value. 
+
+```js  
 
 ```js
 require('dotenv').config({ path: ['.env.local', '.env'] })
@@ -368,7 +370,7 @@ require('dotenv').config({ debug: process.env.DEBUG })
 
 Default: `false`
 
-Override any environment variables that have already been set on your machine with values from your .env file(s). If multiple files have been provided in `option.path` the override does not apply while the files are being combined (see `options.path`). It applies though at the merging of the combined results with `process.env` (or `optiors.processEnv`, if set). 
+Override any environment variables that have already been set on your machine with values from your .env file(s). If multiple files have been provided in `option.path` the override will also be used as each file is combined with the next. Without `override` being set, the first value wins. With `override` set the last value wins. 
 
 ```js
 require('dotenv').config({ override: true })
diff --git a/lib/main.js b/lib/main.js
index c5dab345..22612d59 100644
--- a/lib/main.js
+++ b/lib/main.js
@@ -237,19 +237,15 @@ function configDotenv (options) {
   // If we have options.path, and it had valid paths, use them. Else fall back to .env
   const pathsToProcess = optionPathsThatExist.length ? optionPathsThatExist : [dotenvPath]
 
-  // Build the parsed data in a temporary object. As we iterate through the multiple option.path objects,
-  // we will not want to be overriding any variable after the first time it is discovered. Thus, the
-  // "options.override" will be false.  Once we have the final parsed data, we will populate the process.env
-  // (or options.processEnv) object with the parsed data, and for that merge, we will consider the "options.override"
+  // Build the parsed data in a temporary object (because we need to return it).  Once we have the final
+  // parsed data, we will combine it with process.env (or options.processEnv if provided).
 
   const parsed = {}
   try {
-    const mergeOptions = { ...options }
-    delete mergeOptions.override
     for (const path of pathsToProcess) {
       // Specifying an encoding returns a string instead of a buffer
       const singleFileParsed = DotenvModule.parse(fs.readFileSync(path, { encoding }))
-      DotenvModule.populate(parsed, singleFileParsed, mergeOptions)
+      DotenvModule.populate(parsed, singleFileParsed, options)
     }
 
     let processEnv = process.env