diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/yumdnf-autoremove.yaml b/changelogs/fragments/yumdnf-autoremove.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..264356b688
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/yumdnf-autoremove.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+minor_changes:
+  - "fix yum and dnf autoremove input sanitization to properly warn user if invalid options passed and update documentation to match"
diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/yumdnf.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/yumdnf.py
index a158e89157..7f5e550093 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/yumdnf.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/yumdnf.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ yumdnf_argument_spec = dict(
         security=dict(type='bool', default=False),
         skip_broken=dict(type='bool', default=False),
         # removed==absent, installed==present, these are accepted as aliases
-        state=dict(type='str', default='present', choices=['absent', 'installed', 'latest', 'present', 'removed']),
+        state=dict(type='str', default=None, choices=['absent', 'installed', 'latest', 'present', 'removed']),
         update_cache=dict(type='bool', default=False, aliases=['expire-cache']),
         update_only=dict(required=False, default="no", type='bool'),
         validate_certs=dict(type='bool', default=True),
@@ -104,6 +104,19 @@ class YumDnf(with_metaclass(ABCMeta, object)):
                     'string of packages or a list of packages.'
             )
 
+        # Sanity checking for autoremove
+        if self.state is None:
+            if self.autoremove:
+                self.state = "absent"
+            else:
+                self.state = "present"
+
+        if self.autoremove and (self.state != "absent"):
+            self.module.fail_json(
+                msg="Autoremove should be used alone or with state=absent",
+                results=[],
+            )
+
         # This should really be redefined by both the yum and dnf module but a
         # default isn't a bad idea
         self.lockfile = '/var/run/yum.pid'
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/dnf.py b/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/dnf.py
index b286f2b666..3924007538 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/dnf.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/dnf.py
@@ -41,8 +41,9 @@ options:
   state:
     description:
       - Whether to install (C(present), C(latest)), or remove (C(absent)) a package.
+      - Default is C(None), however in effect the default action is C(present) unless the C(autoremove) option is
+        enabled for this module, then C(absent) is inferred.
     choices: ['absent', 'present', 'installed', 'removed', 'latest']
-    default: "present"
 
   enablerepo:
     description:
@@ -1041,11 +1042,6 @@ class DnfModule(YumDnf):
                     msg="Autoremove requires dnf>=2.0.1. Current dnf version is %s" % dnf.__version__,
                     results=[],
                 )
-            if self.state not in ["absent", None]:
-                self.module.fail_json(
-                    msg="Autoremove should be used alone or with state=absent",
-                    results=[],
-                )
 
         if self.update_cache and not self.names and not self.list:
             self.base = self._base(
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/yum.py b/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/yum.py
index 2cbee1ea3b..ecf0081170 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/yum.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/yum.py
@@ -55,8 +55,9 @@ options:
       - C(present) and C(installed) will simply ensure that a desired package is installed.
       - C(latest) will update the specified package if it's not of the latest available version.
       - C(absent) and C(removed) will remove the specified package.
+      - Default is C(None), however in effect the default action is C(present) unless the C(autoremove) option is¬
+        enabled for this module, then C(absent) is inferred.
     choices: [ absent, installed, latest, present, removed ]
-    default: present
   enablerepo:
     description:
       - I(Repoid) of repositories to enable for the install/update operation.