diff --git a/test/CMakeLists.txt b/test/CMakeLists.txt
index e6b7791c..6ddd5871 100644
--- a/test/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/test/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -46,8 +46,6 @@ if (HAVE_TYPE_TRAITS)
 endif ()
 
 add_executable(macro-test macro-test.cc ${FMT_TEST_SOURCES} ${TEST_MAIN_SRC})
-set_target_properties(macro-test
-  PROPERTIES COMPILE_DEFINITIONS "FMT_USE_VARIADIC_TEMPLATES=0")
 target_link_libraries(macro-test gmock)
 
 if (HAVE_OPEN)
diff --git a/test/macro-test.cc b/test/macro-test.cc
index e25908ba..8a537028 100644
--- a/test/macro-test.cc
+++ b/test/macro-test.cc
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
 
 #include <utility>
 #include <gtest/gtest.h>
+
+#define FMT_USE_VARIADIC_TEMPLATES 0
 #include "format.h"
 
 #define IDENTITY(x) x