diff --git a/build/cmake/functions.cmake b/build/cmake/functions.cmake
index 50da094963..7e676a7cc7 100644
--- a/build/cmake/functions.cmake
+++ b/build/cmake/functions.cmake
@@ -571,9 +571,10 @@ function(wx_set_builtin_target_properties target_name)
     endif()
 
     if(WIN32)
-        target_compile_definitions(${target_name} PUBLIC UNICODE)
+        # not needed for wxWidgets anymore (it is always built with unicode)
+        # but keep it here so applications linking to wxWidgets will inherit it
+        target_compile_definitions(${target_name} PUBLIC UNICODE _UNICODE)
     endif()
-    target_compile_definitions(${target_name} PUBLIC _UNICODE)
 
     target_include_directories(${target_name} BEFORE PRIVATE ${wxSETUP_HEADER_PATH})