diff --git a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
index 06361156f4ccff..5c58a19c25316b 100644
--- a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
+++ b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
@@ -127,8 +127,6 @@ const numberRegExp = /^(0|[1-9][0-9]*)$/;
 const coreModuleRegExp = /^    at (?:[^/\\(]+ \(|)((?<![/\\]).+)\.js:\d+:\d+\)?$/;
 const nodeModulesRegExp = /[/\\]node_modules[/\\](.+?)(?=[/\\])/g;
 
-const readableRegExps = {};
-
 const kMinLineLength = 16;
 
 // Constants to map the iterator state.
@@ -1055,37 +1053,12 @@ function formatBigInt(fn, value) {
 function formatPrimitive(fn, value, ctx) {
   if (typeof value === 'string') {
     if (ctx.compact !== true &&
-        ctx.indentationLvl + value.length + 4 > ctx.breakLength &&
-        value.length > kMinLineLength) {
-      // Subtract the potential quotes, the space and the plus as well (4).
-      const rawMaxLineLength = ctx.breakLength - ctx.indentationLvl - 4;
-      const maxLineLength = Math.max(rawMaxLineLength, kMinLineLength);
-      const lines = Math.ceil(value.length / maxLineLength);
-      const averageLineLength = Math.ceil(value.length / lines);
-      const divisor = Math.max(averageLineLength, kMinLineLength);
-      if (readableRegExps[divisor] === undefined) {
-        // Build a new RegExp that naturally breaks text into multiple lines.
-        //
-        // Rules
-        // 1. Greedy match all text up the max line length that ends with a
-        //    whitespace or the end of the string.
-        // 2. If none matches, non-greedy match any text up to a whitespace or
-        //    the end of the string.
-        //
-        // eslint-disable-next-line max-len, node-core/no-unescaped-regexp-dot
-        readableRegExps[divisor] = new RegExp(`(.|\\n){1,${divisor}}(\\s|$)|(\\n|.)+?(\\s|$)`, 'gm');
-      }
-      const matches = value.match(readableRegExps[divisor]);
-      if (matches.length > 1) {
-        const indent = ' '.repeat(ctx.indentationLvl);
-        let res = `${fn(strEscape(matches[0]), 'string')} +\n`;
-        const lastIndex = matches.length - 1;
-        for (let i = 1; i < lastIndex; i++) {
-          res += `${indent}  ${fn(strEscape(matches[i]), 'string')} +\n`;
-        }
-        res += `${indent}  ${fn(strEscape(matches[lastIndex]), 'string')}`;
-        return res;
-      }
+        value.length > kMinLineLength &&
+        value.length > ctx.breakLength - ctx.indentationLvl - 4) {
+      return value
+        .split(/(?<=\n)/)
+        .map((line) => fn(strEscape(line), 'string'))
+        .join(` +\n${' '.repeat(ctx.indentationLvl + 2)}`);
     }
     return fn(strEscape(value), 'string');
   }
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js b/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
index 45fabf5c286a40..525b97c5e7a09f 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-util-inspect.js
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ assert.strictEqual(util.inspect(new Date('')), (new Date('')).toString());
 assert.strictEqual(util.inspect('\n\u0001'), "'\\n\\u0001'");
 assert.strictEqual(
   util.inspect(`${Array(75).fill(1)}'\n\u001d\n\u0003`),
-  `"${Array(75).fill(1)}'\\n" +\n  '\\u001d\\n\\u0003'`
+  `"${Array(75).fill(1)}'\\n" +\n  '\\u001d\\n' +\n  '\\u0003'`
 );
 assert.strictEqual(util.inspect([]), '[]');
 assert.strictEqual(util.inspect(Object.create([])), 'Array {}');
@@ -1487,10 +1487,9 @@ util.inspect(process);
     '    2,',
     '    [',
     '      [',
-    "        'Lorem ipsum dolor\\nsit amet,\\tconsectetur ' +",
-    "          'adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor ' +",
-    "          'incididunt ut labore et dolore magna ' +",
-    "          'aliqua.',",
+    "        'Lorem ipsum dolor\\n' +",
+    "          'sit amet,\\tconsectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod " +
+      "tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.',",
     "        'test',",
     "        'foo'",
     '      ]',
@@ -1507,12 +1506,9 @@ util.inspect(process);
 
   out = util.inspect(o.a[2][0][0], { compact: false, breakLength: 30 });
   expect = [
-    "'Lorem ipsum dolor\\nsit ' +",
-    "  'amet,\\tconsectetur ' +",
-    "  'adipiscing elit, sed do ' +",
-    "  'eiusmod tempor incididunt ' +",
-    "  'ut labore et dolore magna ' +",
-    "  'aliqua.'"
+    "'Lorem ipsum dolor\\n' +",
+    "  'sit amet,\\tconsectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor " +
+      "incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.'"
   ].join('\n');
   assert.strictEqual(out, expect);
 
@@ -1526,30 +1522,7 @@ util.inspect(process);
     '12 45 78 01 34 67 90 23 56 89 123456789012345678901234567890',
     { compact: false, breakLength: 3 });
   expect = [
-    "'12 45 78 01 34 ' +",
-    "  '67 90 23 56 89 ' +",
-    "  '123456789012345678901234567890'"
-  ].join('\n');
-  assert.strictEqual(out, expect);
-
-  out = util.inspect(
-    '12 45 78 01 34 67 90 23 56 89 1234567890123 0',
-    { compact: false, breakLength: 3 });
-  expect = [
-    "'12 45 78 01 34 ' +",
-    "  '67 90 23 56 89 ' +",
-    "  '1234567890123 0'"
-  ].join('\n');
-  assert.strictEqual(out, expect);
-
-  out = util.inspect(
-    '12 45 78 01 34 67 90 23 56 89 12345678901234567 0',
-    { compact: false, breakLength: 3 });
-  expect = [
-    "'12 45 78 01 34 ' +",
-    "  '67 90 23 56 89 ' +",
-    "  '12345678901234567 ' +",
-    "  '0'"
+    "'12 45 78 01 34 67 90 23 56 89 123456789012345678901234567890'"
   ].join('\n');
   assert.strictEqual(out, expect);
 
@@ -1588,7 +1561,7 @@ util.inspect(process);
 
   o[util.inspect.custom] = () => ({ a: '12 45 78 01 34 67 90 23' });
   out = util.inspect(o, { compact: false, breakLength: 3 });
-  expect = "{\n  a: '12 45 78 01 34 ' +\n    '67 90 23'\n}";
+  expect = "{\n  a: '12 45 78 01 34 67 90 23'\n}";
   assert.strictEqual(out, expect);
 }
 
@@ -2192,16 +2165,13 @@ assert.strictEqual(
     '    b: {',
     '      x: 5,',
     '      c: {',
-    "        x: '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +",
-    "          '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ',",
+    "        x: '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 10000000000000000 " +
+      '00000000000000000 10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +
+      '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 10000000000000000 ' +
+      '00000000000000000 10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +
+      '10000000000000000 00000000000000000 10000000000000000 ' +
+      '00000000000000000 10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ' +
+      "10000000000000000 00000000000000000 ',",
     '        d: 2,',
     '        e: 3',
     '      }',