quixotic
Americanadjective
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(of a goal, action, or impulse) characterized by impractical idealism or by extravagant chivalry and romantic imagination.
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impulsive, overeager, or capricious.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) resembling or befitting Don Quixote.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quixotic
First recorded in 1805–15; (Don) Quixote + -ic
Explanation
Use quixotic for someone or something that is romantic and unrealistic, or possessed by almost impossible hopes. Your quixotic task is easy to understand, if difficult to achieve: establish world peace. What a wonderful word quixotic is! While it is most often used to mean equally impractical and idealistic, it also has the sense of romantic nobility. Its source is from the great Spanish novel "Don Quixote," whose title character is given to unrealistic schemes and great chivalry. In the middle of a recession and high unemployment, it would be quixotic to imagine that you could quit your job and find another easily.
Vocabulary lists containing quixotic
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Scrabble: High Scoring Words
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40 SAT words Beginning with "Q"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s called Interesting Times, rather than Foreboding Times, Quixotic Times, or Bleak Times—which is an indication of where he stands.
From Slate • Oct. 7, 2025
Sánchez launched what many viewed as a Quixotic road trip to drum up support across Spain from rank-and-file party members.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2023
Finding homes for orphans, stoking Quixotic big league fantasies and bringing hope to the otherwise hopeless can be exhausting, both mentally and emotionally.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2023
Broadcaster Stuart Maconie disagreed, writing: "The Bowie Prom was exactly what a Bowie Prom should have been: Quixotic, challenging, playful, maddening and mainly brilliant."
From BBC • Jul. 29, 2016
Had he not been Quixotic in not fighting for Wendover?
From The Everlasting Arms by Hocking, Joseph
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
