diff --git a/src/lib/internal.h b/src/lib/internal.h
index b65723e42..2d6a497a4 100644
--- a/src/lib/internal.h
+++ b/src/lib/internal.h
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ extern "C" {
 #include "compat/compat.h"
 #include "notcurses/notcurses.h"
 
+// KEY_EVENT is defined by both ncurses.h and wincon.h. since we don't use
+// either definition, kill it before inclusion of ncurses.h.
+#undef KEY_EVENT
 #include <ncurses.h> // needed for some definitions, see terminfo(3ncurses)
 #include <term.h>
 #include <time.h>