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.
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
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
Youth Quixotic, idiosyncratic, effortlessly moving, this meditation on the wonders and complications of life unites top Italian director Paolo Sorrentino with stars Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2015
In what may ultimately be a Quixotic effort, the U.S.
From Slate • Feb. 5, 2013
Starving adventurers there always are, ready to embark in any Quixotic attempt, since they have nothing to lose.
From The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph by Field, Henry M. (Henry Martyn)
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.
