diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/li/libev/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/li/libev/package.nix
index cf0f426f96b2..cd26897d382d 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/li/libev/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/li/libev/package.nix
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   configureFlags = lib.optional static "LDFLAGS=-static";
 
+  makeFlags =
+    # doing this in configureFlags causes configure to fail
+    lib.optional (!static && stdenv.hostPlatform.isCygwin) "LDFLAGS=-no-undefined";
+
   meta = {
     description = "High-performance event loop/event model with lots of features";
     maintainers = [ lib.maintainers.raskin ];