diff --git a/number.lua b/number.lua
index 9bc639a..45aabdf 100644
--- a/number.lua
+++ b/number.lua
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ local SPECIAL_NUMBER = {
 
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-function format_num (n, shorthand)
+function format_num (n, shorthand, soft_numbers)
 	if     n ~= n   then  return shorthand and 'NaN' or '0/0'
 	elseif n <  0   then  return '-' .. format_num(-n, shorthand)
 	end
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ function format_num (n, shorthand)
 			local num  = special_number_tests.real(unpack(a))
 			if num == n then
 				alternative_repr( special_number_tests[shorthand and 'short' or 'repr'](unpack(a)) )
-			elseif num then
+			elseif num and soft_numbers then
 				local repr = special_number_tests[shorthand and 'short' or 'repr'](unpack(a))
 				local native_precise = tonumber(('%'..utf8.width(repr)..'f'):format(n))
 				if math.abs(num - n) <= math.abs( native_precise - n ) then
@@ -173,5 +173,5 @@ return function (value, depth, l)
 	assert(type(value) == 'number')
 	assert(type(depth) == 'number' and type(l) == 'table')
 	-- TODO: Add support for more relaxed representations.
-	l[#l+1] = format_num(value, CAN_USE_SHORTHAND and l.options.math_shorthand)
+	l[#l+1] = format_num(value, CAN_USE_SHORTHAND and l.options.math_shorthand, l.options.soft_numbers)
 end
diff --git a/pretty.lua b/pretty.lua
index d0c1b50..a3f5447 100644
--- a/pretty.lua
+++ b/pretty.lua
@@ -469,6 +469,7 @@ local KNOWN_OPTIONS = {
     include_closure     = { type = 'boolean', default = false },
     indent              = { type = 'string',  default = '\t' }, -- TODO: Change default to '    '.
     math_shorthand      = { type = 'boolean', default = false },
+    soft_numbers        = { type = 'boolean', default = true }, -- TODO: Add support for maximally precise numbers.
     max_depth           = { type = 'number',  default = math.huge },
     more_function_info  = { type = 'boolean', default = false },
     recursion           = { type = 'string',  default = 'ignore', accepted = {['ignore'] = true, ['marked'] = true} },
@@ -489,7 +490,7 @@ local function ensure_that_all_options_are_known (options)
     end
     -- Assign default values
     for option_name, option_info in pairs(KNOWN_OPTIONS) do
-        if not options[option_name] then
+        if options[option_name] == nil then
             options[option_name] = option_info.default
         end
     end
diff --git a/test/test_number.lua b/test/test_number.lua
index 950f97c..438daaf 100644
--- a/test/test_number.lua
+++ b/test/test_number.lua
@@ -189,6 +189,11 @@ do
         expect    = 'math.pi',
         shorthand = 'π',
     }
+    format_test {
+        input    =  sum,
+        options  =  { soft_numbers = false },
+        expect   =  tostring(sum),
+    }
 end
 
 number_test {