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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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.
Through this English-language edition, translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg, a wider circle of readers can now follow Ms. Korsgaard’s quixotic but ultimately rewarding pilgrimage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Reducing the fear of litigation to get these assets on plan menus makes sense, even if it is a bit quixotic.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
Lope de Vega wrote of honor and conflict a few doors down from where Miguel de Cervantes penned the first quixotic quest.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
"Andy has such a head of steam it would be quixotic," one Labour MP, who asked not to be named, told AFP, adding that a contest would be "hugely expensive and time-consuming".
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
By April 2006 Lippmann’s superiors at Deutsche Bank were asking him to defend his quixotic gamble.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
