diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/groff/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/groff/package.py
index 132348295a9..a2ccd663ec2 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/groff/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/groff/package.py
@@ -88,3 +88,9 @@ def setup_run_environment(self, env):
         if self.spec.satisfies("+x"):
             dir = join_path(self.prefix.lib, "X11", "app-defaults")
             env.set_path("XFILESEARCHPATH", dir)
+
+    def flag_handler(self, name, flags):
+        if name == "cxxflags":
+            if self.spec.satisfies("%clang@16:"):
+                flags.append("-Wno-register")
+        return (flags, None, None)