diff --git a/lisp/mail/mailalias.el b/lisp/mail/mailalias.el
index 6addb3c5a90..828b2f596a4 100644
--- a/lisp/mail/mailalias.el
+++ b/lisp/mail/mailalias.el
@@ -29,9 +29,7 @@
 
 ;;; Code:
 
-(defvar mail-aliases t
-  "Alias of mail address aliases,
-or t meaning should be initialized from `~/.mailrc'.")
+(require 'sendmail)
 
 ;; Called from sendmail-send-it, or similar functions,
 ;; only if some mail aliases are defined.
@@ -40,6 +38,7 @@ or t meaning should be initialized from `~/.mailrc'.")
 Suitable header fields are `To', `Cc' and `Bcc' and their `Resent-' variants.
 Optional second arg EXCLUDE may be a regular expression defining text to be
 removed from alias expansions."
+  (synch-mail-aliases)
   (if (eq mail-aliases t)
       (progn (setq mail-aliases nil) (build-mail-aliases)))
   (goto-char beg)
@@ -167,6 +166,7 @@ DEFINITION can be one or more mail addresses separated by spaces.
 An address can contain spaces if it is quoted with double-quotes."
   (interactive "sDefine mail alias: \nsDefine %s as mail alias for: ")
   ;; Read the defaults first, if we have not done so.
+  (synch-mail-aliases)
   (if (eq mail-aliases t)
       (progn
 	(setq mail-aliases nil)