diff --git a/src/H5pubconf.h.in b/src/H5pubconf.h.in
index 82fc2f5..73ef147 100644
--- a/src/H5pubconf.h.in
+++ b/src/H5pubconf.h.in
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@
 #cmakedefine H5_HAVE_VISUAL_STUDIO @H5_HAVE_VISUAL_STUDIO@
 
 /* Define the default plugins path to compile */
-#cmakedefine H5_DEFAULT_PLUGINDIR "@H5_DEFAULT_PLUGINDIR@"
+#ifndef H5_DEFAULT_PLUGINDIR
+#define H5_DEFAULT_PLUGINDIR ""
+#endif
 
 /* Define if your system is IBM ppc64le and cannot convert some long double
    values correctly. */