diff --git a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-archives.php b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-archives.php
index 3f19ebadf7..261c87df01 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-archives.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-archives.php
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class WP_Widget_Archives extends WP_Widget {
 	public function __construct() {
 		$widget_ops = array(
 			'classname'                   => 'widget_archive',
-			'description'                 => __( 'A monthly archive of your site’s Posts.' ),
+			'description'                 => html_entity_decode( __( 'A monthly archive of your site’s Posts.' ) ),
 			'customize_selective_refresh' => true,
 			'show_instance_in_rest'       => true,
 		);
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-meta.php b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-meta.php
index 6dd793512d..7fd0501654 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-meta.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-meta.php
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class WP_Widget_Meta extends WP_Widget {
 	public function __construct() {
 		$widget_ops = array(
 			'classname'                   => 'widget_meta',
-			'description'                 => __( 'Login, RSS, & WordPress.org links.' ),
+			'description'                 => html_entity_decode( __( 'Login, RSS, & WordPress.org links.' ) ),
 			'customize_selective_refresh' => true,
 			'show_instance_in_rest'       => true,
 		);
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-comments.php b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-comments.php
index 6461a17ad6..8568053de0 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-comments.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-comments.php
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class WP_Widget_Recent_Comments extends WP_Widget {
 	public function __construct() {
 		$widget_ops = array(
 			'classname'                   => 'widget_recent_comments',
-			'description'                 => __( 'Your site’s most recent comments.' ),
+			'description'                 => html_entity_decode( __( 'Your site’s most recent comments.' ) ),
 			'customize_selective_refresh' => true,
 			'show_instance_in_rest'       => true,
 		);
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-posts.php b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-posts.php
index ef8f4c4624..330c28e599 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-posts.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-posts.php
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class WP_Widget_Recent_Posts extends WP_Widget {
 	public function __construct() {
 		$widget_ops = array(
 			'classname'                   => 'widget_recent_entries',
-			'description'                 => __( 'Your site’s most recent Posts.' ),
+			'description'                 => html_entity_decode( __( 'Your site’s most recent Posts.' ) ),
 			'customize_selective_refresh' => true,
 			'show_instance_in_rest'       => true,
 		);