diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
index 68c836f2b3..36bdb0ffec 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
@@ -1041,8 +1041,8 @@ class Formula
   # less consistent and the standard parameters are more memorable.
   def std_cmake_args
     %W[
-      -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE=
-      -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE=
+      -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE=-DNDEBUG
+      -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE=-DNDEBUG
       -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=#{prefix}
       -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
       -DCMAKE_FIND_FRAMEWORK=LAST