quixotic
[kwik-sot-ik]
- extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
- impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.
- (sometimes initial capital letter) resembling or befitting Don Quixote.
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Sometimes quix·ot·i·cal.
Origin of quixotic
Synonyms
See more synonyms for quixotic on Thesaurus.com1. fanciful, fantastic, imaginary.
Antonyms
1. realistic, practical.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for quixotic
Contemporary Examples
Resolve that this can and should be the year that zero preschoolers go hungry based on your quixotic grandstanding.
Of course, his quixotic crusade to defund Obamacare will surely fail, but it made for some good TV.
Highlight Reel: 11 Craziest Moments From Ted Cruz’s Quasi-FilibusterBen Jacobs, The Daily Beast Video
September 25, 2013
In November 2007, though, Dutschke seemed to realize his campaign was quixotic.
Even after Newtown, swarms of commentators warned that Obama would be a fool to take on such a quixotic cause.
But along comes Hank Greenberg, AIG's colorful former chief, pushing them to join his quixotic lawsuit.
Historical Examples
Wild, Quixotic notions of sacrifice flooded his mood of dejection.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
You must be very tired, having roamed about in this Quixotic fashion!
Tales From Two HemispheresHjalmar Hjorth Boysen
He was quixotic, especially in anything to do with money, and often to his own personal loss.
War Letters of a Public-School BoyPaul Jones.
Porcallo, a Quixotic knight, had no element of timidity in his character.
Ferdinand De Soto, The Discoverer of the MississippiJohn S. C. Abbott
We should be quixotic and fatuous indeed if we attempted anything of the kind.
SocialismJohn Spargo
quixotic
- preoccupied with an unrealistically optimistic or chivalrous approach to life; impractically idealistic
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Word Origin
C18: after Don Quixote
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for quixotic
adj.
"extravagantly chivalrous," 1791, from Don Quixote, romantic, impractical hero of Cervantes' satirical novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" (1605; English translation by 1620). His name literally means "thigh," also "a cuisse" (a piece of armor for the thigh), in Modern Spanish quijote, from Latin coxa "hip." Related: Quixotical; quixotically.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper