diff --git a/packages/_server/src/config/documentSettings.mts b/packages/_server/src/config/documentSettings.mts
index 25e56fb309..3965d0eeae 100644
--- a/packages/_server/src/config/documentSettings.mts
+++ b/packages/_server/src/config/documentSettings.mts
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ export class DocumentSettings {
         const mergedSettingsFromVSCode = mergeSettings(this.importedSettings(), vscodeCSpellSettings);
         const mergedSettings = mergeSettings(
             this.defaultSettings,
-            filterMergeFields(mergedSettingsFromVSCode, !settings || vscodeCSpellSettings['mergeCSpellSettings']),
+            filterMergeFields(mergedSettingsFromVSCode, vscodeCSpellSettings['mergeCSpellSettings'] || !settings),
             settings,
         );