diff --git a/src/markup/engine/__tests__/remarkup/highlight.txt b/src/markup/engine/__tests__/remarkup/highlight.txt
--- a/src/markup/engine/__tests__/remarkup/highlight.txt
+++ b/src/markup/engine/__tests__/remarkup/highlight.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 how about we !!highlight!! some !!TEXT!!!
 wow this must be **!!very important!!**
+omg!!!!!
 ~~~~~~~~~~
 <p>how about we <span class="remarkup-highlight">highlight</span> some <span class="remarkup-highlight">TEXT!</span>
-wow this must be <strong><span class="remarkup-highlight">very important</span></strong></p>
+wow this must be <strong><span class="remarkup-highlight">very important</span></strong>
+omg!!!!!</p>
 ~~~~~~~~~~
-how about we !!highlight!! some !!TEXT!!! wow this must be **!!very important!!**
+how about we !!highlight!! some !!TEXT!!! wow this must be **!!very important!!** omg!!!!!
diff --git a/src/markup/engine/remarkup/markuprule/PhutilRemarkupHighlightRule.php b/src/markup/engine/remarkup/markuprule/PhutilRemarkupHighlightRule.php
--- a/src/markup/engine/remarkup/markuprule/PhutilRemarkupHighlightRule.php
+++ b/src/markup/engine/remarkup/markuprule/PhutilRemarkupHighlightRule.php
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@
     // Remove the two exclamation points that represent syntax.
     $excitement = substr($matches[2], 2);
 
+    // If the internal content consists of ONLY exclamation points, leave it
+    // untouched so "!!!!!" is five exclamation points instead of one
+    // highlighted exclamation point.
+    if (preg_match('/^!+\z/', $matches[1])) {
+      return $matches[0];
+    }
+
     // $excitement now has two fewer !'s than we started with.
     return hsprintf('<span class="remarkup-highlight">%s%s</span>',
       $matches[1], $excitement);