diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 975936501c..26a7f44bb1 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -649,7 +649,7 @@ CXXFLAGS="$TEMP_CXXFLAGS"
 
 fi
 
-CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -DHAVE_BUILD_INFO"
+CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -DHAVE_BUILD_INFO -DGSL_NO_IOSTREAMS"
 
 AC_ARG_WITH([utils],
   [AS_HELP_STRING([--with-utils],