diff --git a/lisp/emacs-lisp/generator.el b/lisp/emacs-lisp/generator.el
index 8251682590e..65def39bf2e 100644
--- a/lisp/emacs-lisp/generator.el
+++ b/lisp/emacs-lisp/generator.el
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@
   ;; Change this function to use `cl-gensym' if you want the generated
   ;; code to be easier to read and debug.
   ;; (cl-gensym (apply #'format fmt args))
-  `(make-symbol ,fmt))
+  `(make-symbol (format ,fmt . ,args)))
 
 (defvar cps--dynamic-wrappers '(identity)
   "List of transformer functions to apply to atomic forms we