diff --git a/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/AbstractMenu.jl b/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/AbstractMenu.jl
index a1f94852b38ec..ddcfc111cf962 100644
--- a/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/AbstractMenu.jl
+++ b/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/AbstractMenu.jl
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ Returns `selected(m)`.
 !!! compat "Julia 1.6"
     The `cursor` argument requires Julia 1.6 or later.
 """
-request(m::AbstractMenu; kwargs...) = request(terminal, m; kwargs...)
+request(m::AbstractMenu; kwargs...) = request(default_terminal(), m; kwargs...)
 
 function request(term::REPL.Terminals.TTYTerminal, m::AbstractMenu; cursor::Union{Int, Base.RefValue{Int}}=1, suppress_output=false)
     if cursor isa Int
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ end
 
 Shorthand for `println(msg); request(m)`.
 """
-request(msg::AbstractString, m::AbstractMenu; kwargs...) = request(terminal, msg, m; kwargs...)
+request(msg::AbstractString, m::AbstractMenu; kwargs...) = request(default_terminal(), msg, m; kwargs...)
 
 function request(term::REPL.Terminals.TTYTerminal, msg::AbstractString, m::AbstractMenu; kwargs...)
     println(term.out_stream, msg)
diff --git a/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/Pager.jl b/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/Pager.jl
index c823a5dedd1ba..091f87801e7a4 100644
--- a/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/Pager.jl
+++ b/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/Pager.jl
@@ -39,4 +39,4 @@ function pager(terminal, object)
     pager = Pager(String(take!(buffer)); pagesize = div(lines, 2))
     return request(terminal, pager)
 end
-pager(object) = pager(terminal, object)
+pager(object) = pager(default_terminal(), object)
diff --git a/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/TerminalMenus.jl b/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/TerminalMenus.jl
index 87869e84d9838..9fcddef2fd484 100644
--- a/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/TerminalMenus.jl
+++ b/stdlib/REPL/src/TerminalMenus/TerminalMenus.jl
@@ -2,13 +2,11 @@
 
 module TerminalMenus
 
-terminal = nothing  # The user terminal
+using REPL: REPL
 
-import REPL
-
-function __init__()
-    global terminal
-    terminal = REPL.Terminals.TTYTerminal(get(ENV, "TERM", Sys.iswindows() ? "" : "dumb"), stdin, stdout, stderr)
+function default_terminal(; in::IO=stdin, out::IO=stdout, err::IO=stderr)
+    return REPL.Terminals.TTYTerminal(
+        get(ENV, "TERM", Sys.iswindows() ? "" : "dumb"), in, out, err)
 end
 
 include("util.jl")
diff --git a/stdlib/REPL/test/TerminalMenus/runtests.jl b/stdlib/REPL/test/TerminalMenus/runtests.jl
index c594958a36670..9455632d9f418 100644
--- a/stdlib/REPL/test/TerminalMenus/runtests.jl
+++ b/stdlib/REPL/test/TerminalMenus/runtests.jl
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ function simulate_input(menu::TerminalMenus.AbstractMenu, keys...; kwargs...)
             write(new_stdin, "$key")
         end
     end
-    TerminalMenus.terminal.in_stream = new_stdin
+    terminal = TerminalMenus.default_terminal(; in=new_stdin, out=devnull)
 
-    return request(menu; suppress_output=true, kwargs...)
+    return request(terminal, menu; suppress_output=true, kwargs...)
 end
 
 include("radio_menu.jl")