diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 8b38b6aa4..141f90389 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ if(CONFIG_COMPILER_DISABLE_GCC8_WARNINGS)
 endif()
 
 if(CONFIG_COMPILER_OPTIMIZATION_ASSERTIONS_DISABLE)
-    list(APPEND compile_definitions "NDEBUG")
+    list(APPEND compile_definitions "-DNDEBUG")
 endif()
 
 if(CONFIG_COMPILER_STACK_CHECK_MODE_NORM)