diff --git a/src/libstore/globals.cc b/src/libstore/globals.cc
index 0aecd2b6a..2929bd6e6 100644
--- a/src/libstore/globals.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/globals.cc
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ void initPlugins()
             void *handle =
                 dlopen(file.c_str(), RTLD_LAZY | RTLD_LOCAL);
             if (!handle)
-                throw Error("could not dynamically open plugin file '%s': %s", file, dlerror());
+                warn("could not dynamically open plugin file '%s': %s", file, dlerror());
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/functional/local.mk b/tests/functional/local.mk
index af2a55e58..417c78509 100644
--- a/tests/functional/local.mk
+++ b/tests/functional/local.mk
@@ -141,7 +141,8 @@ endif
 $(d)/test-libstoreconsumer.sh.test $(d)/test-libstoreconsumer.sh.test-debug: \
   $(buildprefix)$(d)/test-libstoreconsumer/test-libstoreconsumer
 $(d)/plugins.sh.test $(d)/plugins.sh.test-debug: \
-  $(buildprefix)$(d)/plugins/libplugintest.$(SO_EXT)
+  $(buildprefix)$(d)/plugins/libplugintest.$(SO_EXT) \
+  $(buildprefix)$(d)/plugins/libplugintestfail.$(SO_EXT)
 $(d)/test-repl-characterization.sh.test $(d)/test-repl-characterization.sh.test-debug: \
   $(buildprefix)$(d)/repl_characterization/test-repl-characterization
 
diff --git a/tests/functional/plugins.sh b/tests/functional/plugins.sh
index baf71a362..491b933b7 100644
--- a/tests/functional/plugins.sh
+++ b/tests/functional/plugins.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,20 @@ if [[ $BUILD_SHARED_LIBS != 1 ]]; then
     skipTest "Plugins are not supported"
 fi
 
-res=$(nix --option setting-set true --option plugin-files $PWD/plugins/libplugintest* eval --expr builtins.anotherNull)
+res=$(nix --option setting-set true --option plugin-files $PWD/plugins/libplugintest.* eval --expr builtins.anotherNull)
 
 [ "$res"x = "nullx" ]
+
+# Plugin load failing due to missing symbols
+res=$(nix --option plugin-files $PWD/plugins/libplugintestfail.* eval --expr '1234 + 5' 2>&1)
+# We expect this to succeed evaluating
+echo "$res" | grep 1239 >/dev/null
+# On Linux, we expect this to print some failure of dlopen.
+# Only on Linux do we expect for sure that -z now is set on the .so file, so it
+# will definitely fail to load instead of lazy loading (and thus not hitting
+# the missing symbol).
+# FIXME(jade): does there exist an equivalent of -z now on macOS that eluded us
+# in search?
+if [[ "$(uname -s)" == Linux ]]; then
+    echo "$res" | grep "could not dynamically open plugin file" >/dev/null
+fi
diff --git a/tests/functional/plugins/local.mk b/tests/functional/plugins/local.mk
index 40350aa96..77339d4c6 100644
--- a/tests/functional/plugins/local.mk
+++ b/tests/functional/plugins/local.mk
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-libraries += libplugintest
+libraries += libplugintest libplugintestfail
 
 libplugintest_DIR := $(d)
 
@@ -9,3 +9,19 @@ libplugintest_ALLOW_UNDEFINED := 1
 libplugintest_EXCLUDE_FROM_LIBRARY_LIST := 1
 
 libplugintest_CXXFLAGS := -I src/libutil -I src/libstore -I src/libexpr -I src/libfetchers
+
+libplugintestfail_DIR := $(d)
+
+libplugintestfail_SOURCES := $(d)/plugintestfail.cc
+
+libplugintestfail_ALLOW_UNDEFINED := 1
+
+libplugintestfail_EXCLUDE_FROM_LIBRARY_LIST := 1
+
+libplugintestfail_CXXFLAGS := -I src/libutil -I src/libstore -I src/libexpr -I src/libfetchers -DMISSING_REFERENCE
+
+# Make sure that the linker strictly evaluates all symbols on .so load on Linux
+# so it will definitely fail to load as expected.
+ifdef HOST_LINUX
+  libplugintestfail_LDFLAGS += -z now
+endif
diff --git a/tests/functional/plugins/plugintest.cc b/tests/functional/plugins/plugintest.cc
index e02fd68d5..9c20f2241 100644
--- a/tests/functional/plugins/plugintest.cc
+++ b/tests/functional/plugins/plugintest.cc
@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 #include "config.hh"
 #include "primops.hh"
+#include <stdlib.h>
 
 using namespace nix;
 
+#ifdef MISSING_REFERENCE
+extern void meow();
+#else
+#define meow() {}
+#endif
+
 struct MySettings : Config
 {
     Setting<bool> settingSet{this, false, "setting-set",
@@ -13,6 +20,11 @@ MySettings mySettings;
 
 static GlobalConfig::Register rs(&mySettings);
 
+[[gnu::used, gnu::unused, gnu::retain]]
+static void maybeRequireMeowForDlopen() {
+    meow();
+}
+
 static void prim_anotherNull (EvalState & state, const PosIdx pos, Value ** args, Value & v)
 {
     if (mySettings.settingSet)
diff --git a/tests/functional/plugins/plugintestfail.cc b/tests/functional/plugins/plugintestfail.cc
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..df60f3222
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/plugins/plugintestfail.cc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+plugintest.cc
\ No newline at end of file