diff --git a/internal/envconfig/envconfig.go b/internal/envconfig/envconfig.go
index e766ac04af21..9f25a67fc6bd 100644
--- a/internal/envconfig/envconfig.go
+++ b/internal/envconfig/envconfig.go
@@ -33,8 +33,9 @@ const (
 )
 
 var (
-	// Retry is set if retry is explicitly enabled via "GRPC_GO_RETRY=on" or if XDS retry support is enabled.
-	Retry = strings.EqualFold(os.Getenv(retryStr), "on") || xdsenv.RetrySupport
+	// Retry is enabled unless explicitly disabled via "GRPC_GO_RETRY=off" or
+	// if XDS retry support is explicitly disabled.
+	Retry = !strings.EqualFold(os.Getenv(retryStr), "off") && xdsenv.RetrySupport
 	// TXTErrIgnore is set if TXT errors should be ignored ("GRPC_GO_IGNORE_TXT_ERRORS" is not "false").
 	TXTErrIgnore = !strings.EqualFold(os.Getenv(txtErrIgnoreStr), "false")
 )