diff --git a/terraform/node_provider.go b/terraform/node_provider.go
index ecf89cd5f..d843b57c1 100644
--- a/terraform/node_provider.go
+++ b/terraform/node_provider.go
@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ func (n *NodeApplyableProvider) ValidateProvider(ctx EvalContext, provider provi
 
 	configBody := buildProviderConfig(ctx, n.Addr, n.ProviderConfig())
 
-	// if provider config is empty, return early
+	// if a provider config is empty (only an alias), return early and don't continue
+	// validation. validate doesn't need to fully configure the provider itself, so
+	// skipping a provider with an implied configuration won't prevent other validation from completing.
 	emptySchema := &configschema.Block{}
 	_, _, evalDiags := ctx.EvaluateBlock(configBody, emptySchema, nil, EvalDataForNoInstanceKey)
 	if !evalDiags.HasErrors() {