Don Quixote

American  

[don kee-hoh-tee, don kwik-suht, dawn kee-haw-te] / ˌdɒn kiˈhoʊ ti, dɒn ˈkwɪk sət, dɔn kiˈhɔ tɛ /

noun

1. the hero of a novel by Cervantes who was inspired by lofty and chivalrous but impractical ideals.

2. (italics) (Don Quixote de la Mancha ) the novel itself (1605 and 1615).

---

Don Quixote British  

/ ˈdɒn kiːˈhəʊtiː, don kiˈxote, -ˈkwɪksət /

noun

1. an impractical idealist

---

Don Quixote Cultural  

1. (1605–1615) A novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The hero, Don Quixote (don is a Spanish title of honor), loses his wits from reading too many romances and comes to believe that he is a knight destined to revive the golden age of chivalry. A tall, gaunt man in armor, he has many comical adventures with his fat squire, Sancho Panza.

---

Discover More

A person who is both idealistic and impractical is often said to be “quixotic.”

Etymology

Origin of Don Quixote

after the hero of Cervantes' Don Quixote de la Mancha

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Don Quixote

“There was almost a Don Quixote feel to it,” recalls one Warner Bros. executive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Any investor panic the writing caused was short-lived, although if fiction can now tank stocks, I’m a little worried about what Moby-Dick means for SeaWorld’s parent company, or Don Quixote for the wind energy sector.

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

But he’s more of a Don Quixote tilting at windmills because his solutions amount to the same level of self-delusion.

From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2025

On a recent Saturday in July, as the sun set behind East L.A. club Don Quixote, a line of black-clothed and face-pierced youths chattered excitedly outside the venue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025

Don Quixote didn't know who they were or where he was.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• dreamer
• idealist
• prophet
• romantic
• seer
• theorist
• zealot

---