diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index d7ccdaec..05831a88 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ AS_IF([test "x$debug" = "xyes"],
      dnl
      dnl GCC provides a couple of checks to detect incorrect macro uses
      AX_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION([-Wundef])
-     AX_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION([-Wunused-macros])
+     WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_UNUSEDMACROS
 ], [dnl
      dnl When debug not enabled, we try to avoid some non-necessary
      dnl messages from the compiler
@@ -845,6 +845,12 @@ fi
 
 gl_LD_VERSION_SCRIPT
 
+
+dnl Add the post-poned compilation options
+dnl ======================================
+WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_POSTPONED
+
+
 AC_OUTPUT(Makefile po/Makefile util/Makefile util/po/Makefile test/Makefile \
 	WINGs/Makefile WINGs/WINGs/Makefile WINGs/Documentation/Makefile \
 	WINGs/Examples/Makefile WINGs/Resources/Makefile WINGs/Tests/Makefile \
diff --git a/m4/wm_cflags_check.m4 b/m4/wm_cflags_check.m4
index d46511a1..26745b69 100644
--- a/m4/wm_cflags_check.m4
+++ b/m4/wm_cflags_check.m4
@@ -75,3 +75,71 @@ wm_fn_c_try_compile_cflag ()
   AS_SET_STATUS([$wm_retval])
 }
 ])
+
+
+# WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_UNUSEDMACROS
+# ---------------------------------
+#
+# Check if the compiler support '-Wunused-macros'. This would be done
+# traditionally using AX_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION(...), but in the present case it
+# always fail because the test program defines many macro (all the stuff
+# detected so far) so the warning always trigger, the compilation then fail,
+# and the option is then marked as never supported.
+#
+# This macro works around this by using a basic program without any #define
+AC_DEFUN([WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_UNUSEDMACROS],
+[AC_CACHE_CHECK([CFLAGS for gcc -Wunused-macros], [wm_cv_c_checks_compopt_Wunused_macros],
+  [AC_LANG_COMPILER_REQUIRE()dnl
+   AC_LANG_PUSH([C])
+   wm_save_CFLAGS="$CFLAGS"
+   CFLAGS="$wm_save_CFLAGS -pedantic -Werror -Wunused-macros"
+   dnl Similar to AC_LANG_CONFTEST(C), except we do not include the 'confdefs.h'
+   dnl directly in the source to avoid an "unused macro" error, but we include
+   dnl it in the same way we will include the "config.h", so we get in the same
+   dnl condition as WindowMaker's source
+   cat <<_ACEOF >conftest.$ac_ext
+@%:@include "confdefs.h"
+
+int
+main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+	/* to avoid failing on -Wunused-parameter */
+	(void) argc;
+	(void) argv;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+_ACEOF
+   AS_IF([ac_fn_[]_AC_LANG_ABBREV[]_try_compile "$LINENO"],
+     [wm_cv_c_checks_compopt_Wunused_macros="-Wunused-macros"],
+     [wm_cv_c_checks_compopt_Wunused_macros="no"])
+   rm -f core conftest.err conftest.$ac_objext conftest.$ac_ext
+   CFLAGS="$wm_save_CFLAGS"
+   AC_LANG_POP([C]) ])
+# We cannot add this flag now to CFLAGS because it could break all further
+# detections done by configure, the flag will be added at the end by the
+# macro WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_POSTPONED
+])
+
+
+# WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_POSTPONED
+# ------------------------------
+#
+# Some options cannot be added to the compilation command as soon as they have
+# been detected because they can break the detection done in autoconf, because
+# the template are cannot always be perfect.
+# This macro takes care of making them effective, so it should be called just
+# before AC_OUTPUT.
+AC_DEFUN_ONCE([WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_POSTPONED],
+[# WM_CFLAGS_GCC_OPTION_POSTPONED: add compiler flags at the end of the autoconf flow
+AS_IF([test "x$debug" = "xyes"],
+  [m4_foreach([arg_name], [[Wunused_macros]],
+    [AS_CASE([$wm_cv_c_checks_compopt_[]arg_name],
+      [no*], [],
+      [AS_IF([echo " $CFLAGS " | grep " $wm_cv_c_checks_compopt_[]arg_name " 2>&1 > /dev/null],
+        [AC_MSG_WARN([option $wm_cv_c_checks_compopt_[]arg_name already present in \$CFLAGS, not appended])],
+        [CFLAGS="$CFLAGS $wm_cv_c_checks_compopt_[]arg_name"])dnl
+      ])
+    ])dnl
+  ])dnl
+])