diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/cmake/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/cmake/default.nix
index 72ecb10b099..45bdeece45e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/cmake/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/cmake/default.nix
@@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       "--system-libs"
     ]
     ++ optional (jsoncpp == null) "--no-system-jsoncpp"
-    ++ optional useQt4 "--qt-gui";
+    ++ optional useQt4 "--qt-gui"
+    ++ ["--"]
+    ++ optional (!useNcurses) "-DBUILD_CursesDialog=OFF";
 
   setupHook = ./setup-hook.sh;