diff --git a/activerecord/lib/active_record/enum.rb b/activerecord/lib/active_record/enum.rb
index 624d9110f5b..6792fa069d9 100644
--- a/activerecord/lib/active_record/enum.rb
+++ b/activerecord/lib/active_record/enum.rb
@@ -57,13 +57,20 @@ module ActiveRecord
   #   conversation = Conversation.new
   #   conversation.status # => "active"
   #
-  # Finally, it's also possible to explicitly map the relation between attribute and
+  # It's possible to explicitly map the relation between attribute and
   # database integer with a hash:
   #
   #   class Conversation < ActiveRecord::Base
   #     enum :status, active: 0, archived: 1
   #   end
   #
+  # Finally it's also possible to use a string column to persist the enumerated value.
+  # Note that this will likely lead to slower database queries:
+  #
+  #   class Conversation < ActiveRecord::Base
+  #     enum :status, active: "active", archived: "archived"
+  #   end
+  #
   # Note that when an array is used, the implicit mapping from the values to database
   # integers is derived from the order the values appear in the array. In the example,
   # <tt>:active</tt> is mapped to +0+ as it's the first element, and <tt>:archived</tt>
diff --git a/activerecord/test/cases/enum_test.rb b/activerecord/test/cases/enum_test.rb
index 4737588347e..4aca490052e 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/cases/enum_test.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/cases/enum_test.rb
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ class EnumTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     assert_equal "visible", @book.author_visibility
     assert_equal "visible", @book.illustrator_visibility
     assert_equal "medium", @book.difficulty
+    assert_equal "soft", @book.cover
   end
 
   test "find via scope" do
@@ -108,6 +109,7 @@ class EnumTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     assert_not_equal @book, Book.where(status: [written, written]).first
     assert_not_equal @book, Book.where.not(status: published).first
     assert_equal @book, Book.where.not(status: written).first
+    assert_equal @book, Book.where(cover: Book.covers[:soft]).first
   end
 
   test "find via where with symbols" do
@@ -119,6 +121,8 @@ class EnumTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     assert_equal @book, Book.where.not(status: :written).first
     assert_equal books(:ddd), Book.where(last_read: :forgotten).first
     assert_nil Book.where(status: :prohibited).first
+    assert_equal @book, Book.where(cover: :soft).first
+    assert_equal @book, Book.where.not(cover: :hard).first
   end
 
   test "find via where with strings" do
@@ -145,6 +149,8 @@ class EnumTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
 
     enabled = Book.boolean_statuses[:enabled].to_s
     assert_equal book, Book.where(boolean_status: enabled).last
+    assert_equal @book, Book.where(cover: "soft").first
+    assert_equal @book, Book.where.not(cover: "hard").first
   end
 
   test "build from scope" do
@@ -170,11 +176,15 @@ class EnumTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
     assert_predicate @book, :in_english?
     @book.author_visibility_visible!
     assert_predicate @book, :author_visibility_visible?
+    @book.hard!
+    assert_predicate @book, :hard?
   end
 
   test "update by setter" do
     @book.update! status: :written
     assert_predicate @book, :written?
+    @book.update! cover: :hard
+    assert_predicate @book, :hard?
   end
 
   test "enum methods are overwritable" do
@@ -185,11 +195,15 @@ class EnumTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
   test "direct assignment" do
     @book.status = :written
     assert_predicate @book, :written?
+    @book.cover = :hard
+    assert_predicate @book, :hard?
   end
 
   test "assign string value" do
     @book.status = "written"
     assert_predicate @book, :written?
+    @book.cover = "hard"
+    assert_predicate @book, :hard?
   end
 
   test "enum changed attributes" do
diff --git a/activerecord/test/fixtures/books.yml b/activerecord/test/fixtures/books.yml
index 824f6c3dc16..3d97c421546 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/fixtures/books.yml
+++ b/activerecord/test/fixtures/books.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ awdr:
   font_size: :medium
   difficulty: :medium
   boolean_status: :enabled
+  cover: "soft"
 
 rfr:
   author_id: 1