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).

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Don Quixote British  

/ ˈkwɪksət, don kiˈxote, ˈdɒn kiːˈhəʊtiː /

noun

1. an impractical idealist

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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.

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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

But Sophie Cunningham has let the state turn her into a combination of Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, willing to joust with a windmill.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Even Miguel de Cervantes’s aging Don Quixote is driven into a phantasmagoric abyss by the reading of chivalrous romance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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

This has been such a great few years for retellings of the classics — from Barbara Kingsolver’s updated David Copperfield to Salman Rushdie’s zany Don Quixote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026

Don Quixote asked him to come back quickly.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

Related Words

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