diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 791ffc7a3..9769453c5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -108,11 +108,9 @@ CFLAGS +=  -DHAVE_POWER8
 HAVE_POWER8=1
 endif
 
-# if we're compiling for release, compile without debug code (-DNDEBUG) and
-# don't treat warnings as errors
+# if we're compiling for release, compile without debug code (-DNDEBUG)
 ifeq ($(DEBUG_LEVEL),0)
 OPT += -DNDEBUG
-DISABLE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=1
 
 ifneq ($(USE_RTTI), 1)
 	CXXFLAGS += -fno-rtti