# diff -Naur /usr/sbin/sysrc /tmp/sysrc
--- /usr/sbin/sysrc	2019-05-29 22:37:39.337940000 +0000
+++ /tmp/sysrc	2019-05-30 00:56:16.951036000 +0000
@@ -873,11 +873,14 @@
 		;;
 	*)
 		if ! IGNORED=$( f_sysrc_get "$NAME?" ); then
-			[ "$IGNORE_UNKNOWNS" -o "$QUIET" ] ||
+			if [ ! "$IGNORE_UNKNOWNS" ]; then
+				status=$FAILURE
+			fi
+			if [ ! "$QUIET" ]; then
 				f_err "%s: unknown variable '%s'\n" \
 					"$pgm" "$NAME"
+			fi
 			shift 1
-			status=$FAILURE
 			continue
 		fi