diff --git a/src/plugins/platforms/cocoa/qcocoaapplicationdelegate.mm b/src/plugins/platforms/cocoa/qcocoaapplicationdelegate.mm
index 42c76e38e83..b25e470399f 100644
--- a/src/plugins/platforms/cocoa/qcocoaapplicationdelegate.mm
+++ b/src/plugins/platforms/cocoa/qcocoaapplicationdelegate.mm
@@ -189,11 +189,20 @@ QT_USE_NAMESPACE
     inLaunch = false;
 
     if (qEnvironmentVariableIsEmpty("QT_MAC_DISABLE_FOREGROUND_APPLICATION_TRANSFORM")) {
-        // Move the application window to front to avoid launching behind the terminal.
-        // Ignoring other apps is necessary (we must ignore the terminal), but makes
-        // Qt apps play slightly less nice with other apps when lanching from Finder
-        // (See the activateIgnoringOtherApps docs.)
-        [[NSApplication sharedApplication] activateIgnoringOtherApps:YES];
+        auto frontmostApplication = NSWorkspace.sharedWorkspace.frontmostApplication;
+        auto currentApplication = NSRunningApplication.currentApplication;
+        if (frontmostApplication != currentApplication) {
+            // Move the application to front to avoid launching behind the terminal.
+            // Ignoring other apps is necessary (we must ignore the terminal), but makes
+            // Qt apps play slightly less nice with other apps when launching from Finder
+            // (see the activateIgnoringOtherApps docs). FIXME: Try to distinguish between
+            // being non-active here because another application stole activation in the
+            // time it took us to launch from Finder, and being non-active because we were
+            // launched from Terminal or something that doesn't activate us at all.
+            qCDebug(lcQpaApplication) << "Launched with" << frontmostApplication
+                << "as frontmost application. Activating" << currentApplication << "instead.";
+            [NSApplication.sharedApplication activateIgnoringOtherApps:YES];
+        }
     }
 
     QCocoaMenuBar::insertWindowMenu();