diff --git a/misc-scripts/ontology/scripts/load_OBO_file.pl b/misc-scripts/ontology/scripts/load_OBO_file.pl
index 4bef63d44b9be8ef340df9df7d93e695ad9eee8c..fd127527a235f7d5207e90e2672a5b005d747369 100755
--- a/misc-scripts/ontology/scripts/load_OBO_file.pl
+++ b/misc-scripts/ontology/scripts/load_OBO_file.pl
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ sub write_term {
         ++$count;
       }
       
-      if(@{$term->{synonyms}}) {
+      if($term->{synonyms} && @{$term->{synonyms}}) {
         if($reuse) {
           print STDERR "REUSE: Skipping synonym writing as term already exists in this database\n";
         }