diff --git a/tests/checks/complete.fish b/tests/checks/complete.fish
index aa775441d..90659c31a 100644
--- a/tests/checks/complete.fish
+++ b/tests/checks/complete.fish
@@ -605,7 +605,12 @@ complete -C'complete_long_option -ao'
 complete -C'complete_long_option lo'
 
 # Check that descriptions are correctly generated for commands.
-# We expect to find at least one `wh...` command with a manpage/apropos description, such as
-# `whoami`, `whereis`, or `which`. Filter out keywords & default/generic completions to test.
+# Override __fish_describe_command to prevent missing man pages or broken __fish_apropos on macOS
+# from failing this test. (TODO: Test the latter separately.)
+function __fish_describe_command
+    echo -e "whereis\twhere is it"
+    echo -e "whoami\twho am i"
+    echo -e "which\which is it"
+end
 test (count (complete -C"wh" | string match -rv "\tcommand|^while")) -gt 0 && echo "found" || echo "fail"
 # CHECK: found