diff --git a/lisp/textmodes/conf-mode.el b/lisp/textmodes/conf-mode.el
index 667818db349..f8d9d2b0a76 100644
--- a/lisp/textmodes/conf-mode.el
+++ b/lisp/textmodes/conf-mode.el
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ not align (only setting space according to `conf-assignment-space')."
 
 
 (defvar conf-font-lock-keywords
-  `(;; [section] (do this first because it may look like a parameter)
+  '(;; [section] (do this first because it may look like a parameter)
     ("^[ \t]*\\[\\(.+\\)\\]" 1 'font-lock-type-face)
     ;; var=val or var[index]=val
     ("^[ \t]*\\(.+?\\)\\(?:\\[\\(.*?\\)\\]\\)?[ \t]*="