diff --git a/lib/repl.js b/lib/repl.js
index 252d52df091..93b412ea64d 100644
--- a/lib/repl.js
+++ b/lib/repl.js
@@ -160,7 +160,11 @@ function REPLServer(prompt, stream) {
                                   'repl');
             if (typeof ret !== 'function') success = true;
           } catch (e) {
-            success = false;
+            if (!(e && e.constructor && e.constructor.name === 'SyntaxError')) {
+              throw e;
+            } else {
+              success = false;
+            }
           }
 
           if (!success) {