diff --git a/lib/buffer.js b/lib/buffer.js
index 1fbfb756f03171..061ff7ebe440da 100644
--- a/lib/buffer.js
+++ b/lib/buffer.js
@@ -920,7 +920,7 @@ Buffer.prototype.write = function write(string, offset, length, encoding) {
       length = remaining;
 
     if (string.length > 0 && (length < 0 || offset < 0))
-      throw new ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS('length', true);
+      throw new ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS();
   } else {
     // if someone is still calling the obsolete form of write(), tell them.
     // we don't want eg buf.write("foo", "utf8", 10) to silently turn into
diff --git a/lib/fs.js b/lib/fs.js
index ebf70948192844..6b80af3b63443e 100644
--- a/lib/fs.js
+++ b/lib/fs.js
@@ -1019,7 +1019,7 @@ fs.fchmod = function(fd, mode, callback) {
   validateUint32(mode, 'mode');
   // Values for mode < 0 are already checked via the validateUint32 function
   if (mode > 0o777)
-    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('mode');
+    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('mode', undefined, mode);
 
   const req = new FSReqWrap();
   req.oncomplete = makeCallback(callback);
@@ -1032,7 +1032,7 @@ fs.fchmodSync = function(fd, mode) {
   validateUint32(mode, 'mode');
   // Values for mode < 0 are already checked via the validateUint32 function
   if (mode > 0o777)
-    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('mode');
+    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('mode', undefined, mode);
   const ctx = {};
   binding.fchmod(fd, mode, undefined, ctx);
   handleErrorFromBinding(ctx);
diff --git a/lib/fs/promises.js b/lib/fs/promises.js
index 7a0389978fdab1..a1d805803ae789 100644
--- a/lib/fs/promises.js
+++ b/lib/fs/promises.js
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ async function fchmod(handle, mode) {
   validateFileHandle(handle);
   validateUint32(mode, 'mode');
   if (mode > 0o777)
-    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('mode');
+    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('mode', undefined, mode);
   return binding.fchmod(handle.fd, mode, kUsePromises);
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/internal/buffer.js b/lib/internal/buffer.js
index 2c65194bfa00cc..dee2535d4973e2 100644
--- a/lib/internal/buffer.js
+++ b/lib/internal/buffer.js
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ function boundsError(value, length, type) {
   }
 
   if (length < 0)
-    throw new ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS(null, true);
+    throw new ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS();
 
   throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE(type || 'offset',
                              `>= ${type ? 1 : 0} and <= ${length}`,
diff --git a/lib/internal/crypto/pbkdf2.js b/lib/internal/crypto/pbkdf2.js
index de41be42281c07..4a7f26b509b521 100644
--- a/lib/internal/crypto/pbkdf2.js
+++ b/lib/internal/crypto/pbkdf2.js
@@ -64,11 +64,8 @@ function _pbkdf2(password, salt, iterations, keylen, digest, callback) {
   if (typeof keylen !== 'number')
     throw new ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE('keylen', 'number', keylen);
 
-  if (keylen < 0 ||
-      !Number.isFinite(keylen) ||
-      keylen > INT_MAX) {
-    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('keylen');
-  }
+  if (keylen < 0 || !Number.isInteger(keylen) || keylen > INT_MAX)
+    throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('keylen', `>= 0 && <= ${INT_MAX}`, keylen);
 
   const encoding = getDefaultEncoding();
 
diff --git a/lib/internal/errors.js b/lib/internal/errors.js
index b190ae32bf6c8f..574581431088ba 100644
--- a/lib/internal/errors.js
+++ b/lib/internal/errors.js
@@ -416,20 +416,30 @@ function internalAssert(condition, message) {
   }
 }
 
-function message(key, args) {
+function message(key, args = []) {
   const msg = messages.get(key);
-  internalAssert(msg, `An invalid error message key was used: ${key}.`);
-  let fmt;
   if (util === undefined) util = require('util');
+
   if (typeof msg === 'function') {
-    fmt = msg;
-  } else {
-    fmt = util.format;
-    if (args === undefined || args.length === 0)
-      return msg;
-    args.unshift(msg);
+    internalAssert(
+      msg.length <= args.length, // Default options do not count.
+      `Code: ${key}; The provided arguments length (${args.length}) does not ` +
+        `match the required ones (${msg.length}).`
+    );
+    return msg.apply(null, args);
   }
-  return String(fmt.apply(null, args));
+
+  const expectedLength = (msg.match(/%[dfijoOs]/g) || []).length;
+  internalAssert(
+    expectedLength === args.length,
+    `Code: ${key}; The provided arguments length (${args.length}) does not ` +
+      `match the required ones (${expectedLength}).`
+  );
+  if (args.length === 0)
+    return msg;
+
+  args.unshift(msg);
+  return util.format.apply(null, args);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -739,7 +749,7 @@ E('ERR_HTTP2_INVALID_SETTING_VALUE',
   'Invalid value for setting "%s": %s', TypeError, RangeError);
 E('ERR_HTTP2_INVALID_STREAM', 'The stream has been destroyed', Error);
 E('ERR_HTTP2_MAX_PENDING_SETTINGS_ACK',
-  'Maximum number of pending settings acknowledgements (%s)', Error);
+  'Maximum number of pending settings acknowledgements', Error);
 E('ERR_HTTP2_NO_SOCKET_MANIPULATION',
   'HTTP/2 sockets should not be directly manipulated (e.g. read and written)',
   Error);
@@ -792,7 +802,7 @@ E('ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE', (name, value, reason = 'is invalid') => {
 }, TypeError, RangeError);
 E('ERR_INVALID_ARRAY_LENGTH',
   (name, len, actual) => {
-    internalAssert(typeof actual === 'number', 'actual must be a number');
+    internalAssert(typeof actual === 'number', 'actual must be of type number');
     return `The array "${name}" (length ${actual}) must be of length ${len}.`;
   }, TypeError);
 E('ERR_INVALID_ASYNC_ID', 'Invalid %s value: %s', RangeError);
@@ -924,7 +934,7 @@ E('ERR_UNCAUGHT_EXCEPTION_CAPTURE_ALREADY_SET',
   Error);
 E('ERR_UNESCAPED_CHARACTERS', '%s contains unescaped characters', TypeError);
 E('ERR_UNHANDLED_ERROR',
-  (err) => {
+  (err = undefined) => {
     const msg = 'Unhandled error.';
     if (err === undefined) return msg;
     return `${msg} (${err})`;
@@ -959,7 +969,6 @@ E('ERR_VM_MODULE_STATUS', 'Module status %s', Error);
 E('ERR_ZLIB_INITIALIZATION_FAILED', 'Initialization failed', Error);
 
 function invalidArgType(name, expected, actual) {
-  internalAssert(arguments.length === 3, 'Exactly 3 arguments are required');
   internalAssert(typeof name === 'string', 'name must be a string');
 
   // determiner: 'must be' or 'must not be'
@@ -1006,8 +1015,7 @@ function missingArgs(...args) {
 }
 
 function oneOf(expected, thing) {
-  internalAssert(expected, 'expected is required');
-  internalAssert(typeof thing === 'string', 'thing is required');
+  internalAssert(typeof thing === 'string', '`thing` has to be of type string');
   if (Array.isArray(expected)) {
     const len = expected.length;
     internalAssert(len > 0,
@@ -1026,17 +1034,16 @@ function oneOf(expected, thing) {
   }
 }
 
-function bufferOutOfBounds(name, isWriting) {
-  if (isWriting) {
-    return 'Attempt to write outside buffer bounds';
-  } else {
+function bufferOutOfBounds(name = undefined) {
+  if (name) {
     return `"${name}" is outside of buffer bounds`;
   }
+  return 'Attempt to write outside buffer bounds';
 }
 
-function invalidChar(name, field) {
+function invalidChar(name, field = undefined) {
   let msg = `Invalid character in ${name}`;
-  if (field) {
+  if (field !== undefined) {
     msg += ` ["${field}"]`;
   }
   return msg;
@@ -1044,7 +1051,7 @@ function invalidChar(name, field) {
 
 function outOfRange(name, range, value) {
   let msg = `The value of "${name}" is out of range.`;
-  if (range) msg += ` It must be ${range}.`;
-  if (value !== undefined) msg += ` Received ${value}`;
+  if (range !== undefined) msg += ` It must be ${range}.`;
+  msg += ` Received ${value}`;
   return msg;
 }
diff --git a/lib/internal/fs.js b/lib/internal/fs.js
index 6ff4152aa46814..02ba4bbf72baf9 100644
--- a/lib/internal/fs.js
+++ b/lib/internal/fs.js
@@ -368,9 +368,10 @@ function validateOffsetLengthRead(offset, length, bufferLength) {
   let err;
 
   if (offset < 0 || offset >= bufferLength) {
-    err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('offset');
+    err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('offset', `>= 0 && <= ${bufferLength}`, offset);
   } else if (length < 0 || offset + length > bufferLength) {
-    err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('length');
+    err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('length',
+                               `>= 0 && <= ${bufferLength - offset}`, length);
   }
 
   if (err !== undefined) {
@@ -383,9 +384,12 @@ function validateOffsetLengthWrite(offset, length, byteLength) {
   let err;
 
   if (offset > byteLength) {
-    err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('offset');
-  } else if (offset + length > byteLength || offset + length > kMaxLength) {
-    err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('length');
+    err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('offset', `<= ${byteLength}`, offset);
+  } else {
+    const max = byteLength > kMaxLength ? kMaxLength : byteLength;
+    if (length > max - offset) {
+      err = new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('length', `<= ${max - offset}`, length);
+    }
   }
 
   if (err !== undefined) {
diff --git a/lib/internal/http2/core.js b/lib/internal/http2/core.js
index 0aa9904001a340..bed012d976fbf3 100644
--- a/lib/internal/http2/core.js
+++ b/lib/internal/http2/core.js
@@ -1312,8 +1312,10 @@ class ServerHttp2Session extends Http2Session {
       if (origin === 'null')
         throw new ERR_HTTP2_ALTSVC_INVALID_ORIGIN();
     } else if (typeof originOrStream === 'number') {
-      if (originOrStream >>> 0 !== originOrStream || originOrStream === 0)
-        throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('originOrStream');
+      if (originOrStream >>> 0 !== originOrStream || originOrStream === 0) {
+        throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('originOrStream',
+                                   `> 0 && < ${2 ** 32}`, originOrStream);
+      }
       stream = originOrStream;
     } else if (originOrStream !== undefined) {
       // Allow origin to be passed a URL or object with origin property
@@ -1766,7 +1768,7 @@ class Http2Stream extends Duplex {
     if (typeof code !== 'number')
       throw new ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE('code', 'number', code);
     if (code < 0 || code > kMaxInt)
-      throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('code');
+      throw new ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE('code', `>= 0 && <= ${kMaxInt}`, code);
     if (callback !== undefined && typeof callback !== 'function')
       throw new ERR_INVALID_CALLBACK();
 
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-buffer-arraybuffer.js b/test/parallel/test-buffer-arraybuffer.js
index 24fb5969baec4e..8d26f983f2b4dd 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-buffer-arraybuffer.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-buffer-arraybuffer.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 'use strict';
 
-const common = require('../common');
+require('../common');
 const assert = require('assert');
 
 const LENGTH = 16;
@@ -58,14 +58,14 @@ assert.throws(function() {
   buf[0] = 9;
   assert.strictEqual(ab[1], 9);
 
-  common.expectsError(() => Buffer.from(ab.buffer, 6), {
+  assert.throws(() => Buffer.from(ab.buffer, 6), {
     code: 'ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS]',
     message: '"offset" is outside of buffer bounds'
   });
-  common.expectsError(() => Buffer.from(ab.buffer, 3, 6), {
+  assert.throws(() => Buffer.from(ab.buffer, 3, 6), {
     code: 'ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS]',
     message: '"length" is outside of buffer bounds'
   });
 }
@@ -86,14 +86,14 @@ assert.throws(function() {
   buf[0] = 9;
   assert.strictEqual(ab[1], 9);
 
-  common.expectsError(() => Buffer(ab.buffer, 6), {
+  assert.throws(() => Buffer(ab.buffer, 6), {
     code: 'ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS]',
     message: '"offset" is outside of buffer bounds'
   });
-  common.expectsError(() => Buffer(ab.buffer, 3, 6), {
+  assert.throws(() => Buffer(ab.buffer, 3, 6), {
     code: 'ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS]',
     message: '"length" is outside of buffer bounds'
   });
 }
@@ -111,11 +111,11 @@ assert.throws(function() {
   assert.deepStrictEqual(Buffer.from(ab, [1]), Buffer.from(ab, 1));
 
   // If byteOffset is Infinity, throw.
-  common.expectsError(() => {
+  assert.throws(() => {
     Buffer.from(ab, Infinity);
   }, {
     code: 'ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS]',
     message: '"offset" is outside of buffer bounds'
   });
 }
@@ -133,11 +133,11 @@ assert.throws(function() {
   assert.deepStrictEqual(Buffer.from(ab, 0, [1]), Buffer.from(ab, 0, 1));
 
   // If length is Infinity, throw.
-  common.expectsError(() => {
+  assert.throws(() => {
     Buffer.from(ab, 0, Infinity);
   }, {
     code: 'ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_BUFFER_OUT_OF_BOUNDS]',
     message: '"length" is outside of buffer bounds'
   });
 }
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-child-process-fork.js b/test/parallel/test-child-process-fork.js
index 04318207a3ea94..6cfeeefb51952d 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-child-process-fork.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-child-process-fork.js
@@ -31,18 +31,26 @@ const n = fork(fixtures.path('child-process-spawn-node.js'), args);
 assert.strictEqual(n.channel, n._channel);
 assert.deepStrictEqual(args, ['foo', 'bar']);
 
-n.on('message', function(m) {
+n.on('message', (m) => {
   console.log('PARENT got message:', m);
   assert.ok(m.foo);
 });
 
 // https://github.com/joyent/node/issues/2355 - JSON.stringify(undefined)
 // returns "undefined" but JSON.parse() cannot parse that...
-assert.throws(function() { n.send(undefined); }, TypeError);
-assert.throws(function() { n.send(); }, TypeError);
+assert.throws(() => n.send(undefined), {
+  name: 'TypeError [ERR_MISSING_ARGS]',
+  message: 'The "message" argument must be specified',
+  code: 'ERR_MISSING_ARGS'
+});
+assert.throws(() => n.send(), {
+  name: 'TypeError [ERR_MISSING_ARGS]',
+  message: 'The "message" argument must be specified',
+  code: 'ERR_MISSING_ARGS'
+});
 
 n.send({ hello: 'world' });
 
-n.on('exit', common.mustCall(function(c) {
+n.on('exit', common.mustCall((c) => {
   assert.strictEqual(c, 0);
 }));
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-crypto-pbkdf2.js b/test/parallel/test-crypto-pbkdf2.js
index d3f02cf8bd1d87..b4ecd3c6061158 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-crypto-pbkdf2.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-crypto-pbkdf2.js
@@ -57,45 +57,46 @@ function ondone(err, key) {
 }
 
 // Error path should not leak memory (check with valgrind).
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => crypto.pbkdf2('password', 'salt', 1, 20, null),
   {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_CALLBACK',
-    type: TypeError
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_CALLBACK]'
   }
 );
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => crypto.pbkdf2Sync('password', 'salt', -1, 20, null),
   {
     code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
     message: 'The value of "iterations" is out of range. ' +
              'It must be a non-negative number. Received -1'
   }
 );
 
 ['str', null, undefined, [], {}].forEach((notNumber) => {
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => {
       crypto.pbkdf2Sync('password', 'salt', 1, notNumber, 'sha256');
     }, {
       code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-      type: TypeError,
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
       message: 'The "keylen" argument must be of type number. ' +
                `Received type ${typeof notNumber}`
     });
 });
 
-[Infinity, -Infinity, NaN, -1, 4073741824, INT_MAX + 1].forEach((i) => {
-  common.expectsError(
+[Infinity, -Infinity, NaN, -1, 4073741824, INT_MAX + 1].forEach((input) => {
+  assert.throws(
     () => {
-      crypto.pbkdf2('password', 'salt', 1, i, 'sha256',
+      crypto.pbkdf2('password', 'salt', 1, input, 'sha256',
                     common.mustNotCall());
     }, {
       code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
-      type: RangeError,
-      message: 'The value of "keylen" is out of range.'
+      name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+      message: 'The value of "keylen" is out of range. It ' +
+               `must be >= 0 && <= 2147483647. Received ${input}`
     });
 });
 
@@ -103,58 +104,58 @@ common.expectsError(
 // https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/8571
 crypto.pbkdf2('', '', 1, 32, 'sha256', common.mustCall(assert.ifError));
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => crypto.pbkdf2('password', 'salt', 8, 8, common.mustNotCall()),
   {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
     message: 'The "digest" argument must be one of type string or null. ' +
              'Received type undefined'
   });
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => crypto.pbkdf2Sync('password', 'salt', 8, 8),
   {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
     message: 'The "digest" argument must be one of type string or null. ' +
              'Received type undefined'
   });
 
 [1, {}, [], true, undefined, null].forEach((input) => {
   const msgPart2 = `Buffer, or TypedArray. Received type ${typeof input}`;
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => crypto.pbkdf2(input, 'salt', 8, 8, 'sha256', common.mustNotCall()),
     {
       code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-      type: TypeError,
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
       message: `The "password" argument must be one of type string, ${msgPart2}`
     }
   );
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => crypto.pbkdf2('pass', input, 8, 8, 'sha256', common.mustNotCall()),
     {
       code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-      type: TypeError,
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
       message: `The "salt" argument must be one of type string, ${msgPart2}`
     }
   );
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => crypto.pbkdf2Sync(input, 'salt', 8, 8, 'sha256'),
     {
       code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-      type: TypeError,
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
       message: `The "password" argument must be one of type string, ${msgPart2}`
     }
   );
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => crypto.pbkdf2Sync('pass', input, 8, 8, 'sha256'),
     {
       code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-      type: TypeError,
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
       message: `The "salt" argument must be one of type string, ${msgPart2}`
     }
   );
@@ -162,20 +163,20 @@ common.expectsError(
 
 ['test', {}, [], true, undefined, null].forEach((i) => {
   const received = `Received type ${typeof i}`;
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => crypto.pbkdf2('pass', 'salt', i, 8, 'sha256', common.mustNotCall()),
     {
       code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-      type: TypeError,
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
       message: `The "iterations" argument must be of type number. ${received}`
     }
   );
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => crypto.pbkdf2Sync('pass', 'salt', i, 8, 'sha256'),
     {
       code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-      type: TypeError,
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
       message: `The "iterations" argument must be of type number. ${received}`
     }
   );
@@ -204,20 +205,20 @@ crypto.pbkdf2Sync('pass', new Float32Array(10), 8, 8, 'sha256');
 crypto.pbkdf2Sync(new Float64Array(10), 'salt', 8, 8, 'sha256');
 crypto.pbkdf2Sync('pass', new Float64Array(10), 8, 8, 'sha256');
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => crypto.pbkdf2('pass', 'salt', 8, 8, 'md55', common.mustNotCall()),
   {
     code: 'ERR_CRYPTO_INVALID_DIGEST',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_CRYPTO_INVALID_DIGEST]',
     message: 'Invalid digest: md55'
   }
 );
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => crypto.pbkdf2Sync('pass', 'salt', 8, 8, 'md55'),
   {
     code: 'ERR_CRYPTO_INVALID_DIGEST',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_CRYPTO_INVALID_DIGEST]',
     message: 'Invalid digest: md55'
   }
 );
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-errors-systemerror.js b/test/parallel/test-errors-systemerror.js
index 285c89b5d25c2a..a74d7b3846f59d 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-errors-systemerror.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-errors-systemerror.js
@@ -1,19 +1,17 @@
 // Flags: --expose-internals
 'use strict';
 
-const common = require('../common');
+require('../common');
 const assert = require('assert');
 const errors = require('internal/errors');
-const { AssertionError } = require('assert');
 
 const { E, SystemError } = errors;
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => { throw new errors.SystemError(); },
   {
-    code: 'ERR_ASSERTION',
-    type: AssertionError,
-    message: 'An invalid error message key was used: undefined.'
+    name: 'TypeError',
+    message: 'Cannot read property \'match\' of undefined'
   }
 );
 
@@ -29,11 +27,11 @@ const { ERR_TEST } = errors.codes;
     dest: '/str2'
   };
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => { throw new ERR_TEST(ctx); },
     {
       code: 'ERR_TEST',
-      type: SystemError,
+      name: 'SystemError [ERR_TEST]',
       message: 'custom message: syscall_test returned ETEST (code message)' +
                ' /str => /str2',
       info: ctx
@@ -49,11 +47,11 @@ const { ERR_TEST } = errors.codes;
     path: Buffer.from('/buf'),
     dest: '/str2'
   };
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => { throw new ERR_TEST(ctx); },
     {
       code: 'ERR_TEST',
-      type: SystemError,
+      name: 'SystemError [ERR_TEST]',
       message: 'custom message: syscall_test returned ETEST (code message)' +
                ' /buf => /str2',
       info: ctx
@@ -69,11 +67,11 @@ const { ERR_TEST } = errors.codes;
     path: Buffer.from('/buf'),
     dest: Buffer.from('/buf2')
   };
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => { throw new ERR_TEST(ctx); },
     {
       code: 'ERR_TEST',
-      type: SystemError,
+      name: 'SystemError [ERR_TEST]',
       message: 'custom message: syscall_test returned ETEST (code message)' +
                ' /buf => /buf2',
       info: ctx
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-fs-fchmod.js b/test/parallel/test-fs-fchmod.js
index edf5cc32ea8dca..63d780a57dfc66 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-fs-fchmod.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-fs-fchmod.js
@@ -70,19 +70,19 @@ fs.fchmodSync(1, modeUpperBoundaryValue);
 
 // umask of 0o777 is equal to 775
 const modeOutsideUpperBoundValue = 776;
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => fs.fchmod(1, modeOutsideUpperBoundValue),
   {
     code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
-    type: RangeError,
-    message: 'The value of "mode" is out of range.'
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+    message: 'The value of "mode" is out of range. Received 776'
   }
 );
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => fs.fchmodSync(1, modeOutsideUpperBoundValue),
   {
     code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
-    type: RangeError,
-    message: 'The value of "mode" is out of range.'
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+    message: 'The value of "mode" is out of range. Received 776'
   }
 );
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-fs-read-type.js b/test/parallel/test-fs-read-type.js
index 55049ed79f84eb..2980bca7d2038e 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-fs-read-type.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-fs-read-type.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 'use strict';
 const common = require('../common');
 const fs = require('fs');
+const assert = require('assert');
 const fixtures = require('../common/fixtures');
 
 const filepath = fixtures.path('x.txt');
@@ -9,18 +10,18 @@ const expected = 'xyz\n';
 
 
 // Error must be thrown with string
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => fs.read(fd, expected.length, 0, 'utf-8', common.mustNotCall()),
   {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
     message: 'The "buffer" argument must be one of type Buffer or Uint8Array.' +
              ' Received type number'
   }
 );
 
 [true, null, undefined, () => {}, {}].forEach((value) => {
-  common.expectsError(() => {
+  assert.throws(() => {
     fs.read(value,
             Buffer.allocUnsafe(expected.length),
             0,
@@ -29,45 +30,53 @@ common.expectsError(
             common.mustNotCall());
   }, {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
     message: 'The "fd" argument must be of type number. ' +
              `Received type ${typeof value}`
   });
 });
 
-common.expectsError(() => {
+assert.throws(() => {
   fs.read(fd,
           Buffer.allocUnsafe(expected.length),
           -1,
           expected.length,
           0,
           common.mustNotCall());
-}, { code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE', type: RangeError,
-     message: 'The value of "offset" is out of range.' });
+}, {
+  code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
+  name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+  message: 'The value of "offset" is out of range. It must be >= 0 && <= 4. ' +
+           'Received -1'
+});
 
-common.expectsError(() => {
+assert.throws(() => {
   fs.read(fd,
           Buffer.allocUnsafe(expected.length),
           0,
           -1,
           0,
           common.mustNotCall());
-}, { code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE', type: RangeError,
-     message: 'The value of "length" is out of range.' });
+}, {
+  code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
+  name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+  message: 'The value of "length" is out of range. ' +
+           'It must be >= 0 && <= 4. Received -1'
+});
 
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => fs.readSync(fd, expected.length, 0, 'utf-8'),
   {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
     message: 'The "buffer" argument must be one of type Buffer or Uint8Array.' +
              ' Received type number'
   }
 );
 
 [true, null, undefined, () => {}, {}].forEach((value) => {
-  common.expectsError(() => {
+  assert.throws(() => {
     fs.readSync(value,
                 Buffer.allocUnsafe(expected.length),
                 0,
@@ -75,26 +84,34 @@ common.expectsError(
                 0);
   }, {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-    type: TypeError,
+    name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]',
     message: 'The "fd" argument must be of type number. ' +
              `Received type ${typeof value}`
   });
 });
 
-common.expectsError(() => {
+assert.throws(() => {
   fs.readSync(fd,
               Buffer.allocUnsafe(expected.length),
               -1,
               expected.length,
               0);
-}, { code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE', type: RangeError,
-     message: 'The value of "offset" is out of range.' });
+}, {
+  code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
+  name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+  message: 'The value of "offset" is out of range. ' +
+           'It must be >= 0 && <= 4. Received -1'
+});
 
-common.expectsError(() => {
+assert.throws(() => {
   fs.readSync(fd,
               Buffer.allocUnsafe(expected.length),
               0,
               -1,
               0);
-}, { code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE', type: RangeError,
-     message: 'The value of "length" is out of range.' });
+}, {
+  code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
+  name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+  message: 'The value of "length" is out of range. ' +
+           'It must be >= 0 && <= 4. Received -1'
+});
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-http2-altsvc.js b/test/parallel/test-http2-altsvc.js
index 9fd9a9fc278552..d4216e973df3ca 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-http2-altsvc.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-http2-altsvc.js
@@ -28,43 +28,46 @@ server.on('session', common.mustCall((session) => {
   session.altsvc('h2=":8000"', 3);
 
   // Will error because the numeric stream id is out of valid range
-  [0, -1, 1.1, 0xFFFFFFFF + 1, Infinity, -Infinity].forEach((i) => {
-    common.expectsError(
-      () => session.altsvc('h2=":8000"', i),
+  [0, -1, 1.1, 0xFFFFFFFF + 1, Infinity, -Infinity].forEach((input) => {
+    assert.throws(
+      () => session.altsvc('h2=":8000"', input),
       {
         code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
-        type: RangeError
+        name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
+        message: 'The value of "originOrStream" is out of ' +
+                 `range. It must be > 0 && < 4294967296. Received ${input}`
       }
     );
   });
 
   // First argument must be a string
-  [0, {}, [], null, Infinity].forEach((i) => {
-    common.expectsError(
-      () => session.altsvc(i),
+  [0, {}, [], null, Infinity].forEach((input) => {
+    assert.throws(
+      () => session.altsvc(input),
       {
         code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-        type: TypeError
+        name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]'
       }
     );
   });
 
-  ['\u0001', 'h2="\uff20"', '👀'].forEach((i) => {
-    common.expectsError(
-      () => session.altsvc(i),
+  ['\u0001', 'h2="\uff20"', '👀'].forEach((input) => {
+    assert.throws(
+      () => session.altsvc(input),
       {
         code: 'ERR_INVALID_CHAR',
-        type: TypeError
+        name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_CHAR]',
+        message: 'Invalid character in alt'
       }
     );
   });
 
-  [{}, [], true].forEach((i) => {
-    common.expectsError(
-      () => session.altsvc('clear', i),
+  [{}, [], true].forEach((input) => {
+    assert.throws(
+      () => session.altsvc('clear', input),
       {
         code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE',
-        type: TypeError
+        name: 'TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE]'
       }
     );
   });
@@ -74,25 +77,27 @@ server.on('session', common.mustCall((session) => {
     new URL('abc:'),
     { origin: 'null' },
     { origin: '' }
-  ].forEach((i) => {
-    common.expectsError(
-      () => session.altsvc('h2=":8000', i),
+  ].forEach((input) => {
+    assert.throws(
+      () => session.altsvc('h2=":8000', input),
       {
         code: 'ERR_HTTP2_ALTSVC_INVALID_ORIGIN',
-        type: TypeError
+        name: 'TypeError [ERR_HTTP2_ALTSVC_INVALID_ORIGIN]',
+        message: 'HTTP/2 ALTSVC frames require a valid origin'
       }
     );
   });
 
   // arguments + origin are too long for an ALTSVC frame
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => {
       session.altsvc('h2=":8000"',
                      `http://example.${'a'.repeat(17000)}.org:8000`);
     },
     {
       code: 'ERR_HTTP2_ALTSVC_LENGTH',
-      type: TypeError
+      name: 'TypeError [ERR_HTTP2_ALTSVC_LENGTH]',
+      message: 'HTTP/2 ALTSVC frames are limited to 16382 bytes'
     }
   );
 }));
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-http2-client-rststream-before-connect.js b/test/parallel/test-http2-client-rststream-before-connect.js
index 3120a80b11ddf4..7bace941d1a0af 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-http2-client-rststream-before-connect.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-http2-client-rststream-before-connect.js
@@ -18,12 +18,13 @@ server.listen(0, common.mustCall(() => {
   const req = client.request();
   const closeCode = 1;
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => req.close(2 ** 32),
     {
-      type: RangeError,
+      name: 'RangeError [ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE]',
       code: 'ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE',
-      message: 'The value of "code" is out of range.'
+      message: 'The value of "code" is out of range. It must be ' +
+               '>= 0 && <= 4294967295. Received 4294967296'
     }
   );
   assert.strictEqual(req.closed, false);
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-internal-errors.js b/test/parallel/test-internal-errors.js
index 7521633c6265ad..a161a1db69e66d 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-internal-errors.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-internal-errors.js
@@ -42,11 +42,13 @@ errors.E('TEST_ERROR_2', (a, b) => `${a} ${b}`, Error);
 }
 
 {
-  const err = new errors.codes.TEST_ERROR_1();
-  assert(err instanceof Error);
-  assert.strictEqual(err.name, 'Error [TEST_ERROR_1]');
-  assert.strictEqual(err.message, 'Error for testing purposes: %s');
-  assert.strictEqual(err.code, 'TEST_ERROR_1');
+  assert.throws(
+    () => new errors.codes.TEST_ERROR_1(),
+    {
+      message: 'Code: TEST_ERROR_1; The provided arguments ' +
+               'length (0) does not match the required ones (1).'
+    }
+  );
 }
 
 // Tests for common.expectsError
@@ -156,16 +158,6 @@ assert.strictEqual(
   'Method must be a valid HTTP token ["foo"]'
 );
 
-assert.strictEqual(
-  errors.message('ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE', ['A']),
-  'The value of "A" is out of range.'
-);
-
-assert.strictEqual(
-  errors.message('ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE', ['A', 'some values']),
-  'The value of "A" is out of range. It must be some values.'
-);
-
 assert.strictEqual(
   errors.message('ERR_OUT_OF_RANGE', ['A', 'some values', 'B']),
   'The value of "A" is out of range. It must be some values. Received B'
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-ttywrap-invalid-fd.js b/test/parallel/test-ttywrap-invalid-fd.js
index c360489cb33529..0a0f8c5c4e1a3a 100644
--- a/test/parallel/test-ttywrap-invalid-fd.js
+++ b/test/parallel/test-ttywrap-invalid-fd.js
@@ -1,16 +1,15 @@
 'use strict';
-// Flags: --expose-internals
 
 const common = require('../common');
 const tty = require('tty');
-const { SystemError } = require('internal/errors');
 const uv = process.binding('uv');
+const assert = require('assert');
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => new tty.WriteStream(-1),
   {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_FD',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_INVALID_FD]',
     message: '"fd" must be a positive integer: -1'
   }
 );
@@ -27,37 +26,37 @@ common.expectsError(
     'EBADF (bad file descriptor)' : 'EINVAL (invalid argument)';
   const message = `TTY initialization failed: uv_tty_init returned ${suffix}`;
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => {
       common.runWithInvalidFD((fd) => {
         new tty.WriteStream(fd);
       });
     }, {
       code: 'ERR_TTY_INIT_FAILED',
-      type: SystemError,
+      name: 'SystemError [ERR_TTY_INIT_FAILED]',
       message,
       info
     }
   );
 
-  common.expectsError(
+  assert.throws(
     () => {
       common.runWithInvalidFD((fd) => {
         new tty.ReadStream(fd);
       });
     }, {
       code: 'ERR_TTY_INIT_FAILED',
-      type: SystemError,
+      name: 'SystemError [ERR_TTY_INIT_FAILED]',
       message,
       info
     });
 }
 
-common.expectsError(
+assert.throws(
   () => new tty.ReadStream(-1),
   {
     code: 'ERR_INVALID_FD',
-    type: RangeError,
+    name: 'RangeError [ERR_INVALID_FD]',
     message: '"fd" must be a positive integer: -1'
   }
 );