diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5bd4820ee..e48bcb874 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ endif()
 if(MSVC)
     # VS will automatically add NDEBUG for release mode, but only _DEBUG in debug mode.
     # Since STK uses DEBUG, this is added for debug compilation only:
-    set_property(DIRECTORY PROPERTY COMPILE_DEFINITIONS_DEBUG DEBUG)
+    set_property(DIRECTORY PROPERTY COMPILE_DEFINITIONS $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:DEBUG>)
 else()
     # All non VS generators used create only a single compile mode, so
     # compile flags can be simplye be added