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quixotic

adjective
quix·​ot·​ic | \ kwik-ˈsä-tik How to pronounce quixotic (audio) \

Definition of quixotic

1 : foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals especially : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action
2 : capricious, unpredictable
Other Words from quixotic Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Quixotic Has Roots in Literature Example Sentences Learn More about quixotic

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Other Words from quixotic

quixotical \ kwik-​ˈsä-​ti-​kÉ™l How to pronounce quixotical (audio) \ adjective
quixotically \ kwik-​ˈsä-​ti-​k(É™-​)lÄ“ How to pronounce quixotically (audio) \ adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for quixotic

imaginary, fanciful, visionary, fantastic, chimerical, quixotic mean unreal or unbelievable. imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination. an imaginary desert isle fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination. a teller of fanciful stories visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization. visionary schemes fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief. a fantastic world inhabited by monsters chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic. chimerical dreams of future progress quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense. a quixotic crusade

Quixotic Has Roots in Literature

If you guessed that quixotic has something to do with Don Quixote, you're absolutely right. The hero of the 17th-century Spanish novel El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (by Miguel de Cervantes) didn't change the world by tilting at windmills, but he did leave a linguistic legacy in English. The adjective quixotic is based on his name and has been used to describe unrealistic idealists since at least the early 18th century. The novel has given English other words as well. Dulcinea, the name of Quixote's beloved, has come to mean mistress or sweetheart, and rosinante, which is sometimes used to refer to an old, broken-down horse, comes from the name of the hero's less-than-gallant steed.

Examples of quixotic in a Sentence

In … an earnest book-length essay of neo-Victorian public-mindedness that deplores the "nasty, knowing abuse" that the author would have us fear contaminates too much American humor lately, David Denby, a movie critic for The New Yorker, sets for himself what has to be one of the most quixotic projects that a moral reformer can undertake. — Walter Kirn, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009 The history of biblical oil prospecting is filled with quixotic quests and colorful characters, starting with Welsie Hancock, a wealthy California man who in the 1960s dreamed that Jesus told him he would find black gold in the Holy Land. He sunk his entire fortune into two dry holes. — Mariah Blake, Mother Jones, January and February 2008 Mumey had announced his candidacy as an independent in the partisan election, which meant that he needed 2,300 signatures of registered voters in order to get on the ballot in the fall. It seemed a quixotic adventure, given the small size of Celebration and Mumey's lack of name recognition outside the town. — Douglas Frantz et al., Celebration, USA, 1999 They had quixotic dreams about the future. in this age of giant chain stores, any attempt at operating an independent bookstore must be regarded as quixotic
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Hanoi's quest for the Paracels may be more quixotic than practical. — Brad Lendon, CNN, "The tiny islands that could explode the China-Vietnam relationship," 29 Aug. 2019 Gary Garrels, SFMoMA’s senior curator of painting and sculpture, needed about ten years to put it together, in part because Celmins, who turns eighty-one in October, is so quixotic about how, and when, her work is seen. — Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, "Vija Celmins’s Surface Matters," 26 Aug. 2019 More than 40 years ago, from his fields in southern Louisiana, this was a lonely quest, but not a quixotic one. — Adrian Higgins, Houston Chronicle, "Growers set their sights on developing re-bloomers for the garden," 21 Aug. 2019 Both efforts were not just quixotic — they were solidly opposed by leading Democrats. — David Weigel, Washington Post, "John Fetterman, Pittsburgh’s socialists, Trump-district Democrats: Some winners from this week’s elections," 17 May 2018 She was remembered in the local press for her devotion to the environment and family planning, her support of Pittsburgh’s aviary and her quixotic bequest to a donkey sanctuary in Devon, England. — Nicholas Kulish, New York Times, "Why an Heiress Spent Her Fortune Trying to Keep Immigrants Out," 14 Aug. 2019 With his hard-driving investor-partner David Cohn leading the negotiations with equally tenacious commercial landlords, Swikard’s quixotic scouring of San Diego County was a roller coaster of unfulfilled dreams, disappointment and deal making. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "A star chef’s tortured, year-long quest for the perfect restaurant location ends in the East Village," 9 Aug. 2019 Mike Gravel, the 89-year-old iconoclastic former senator from Alaska, is ending his quixotic presidential campaign. — Grace Segers, CBS News, "Mike Gravel ends his quixotic presidential campaign," 2 Aug. 2019 Significant private investments are few, and tend to the quixotic. — The Economist, "Crimea is still in limbo five years after Russia seized it," 8 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quixotic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of quixotic

1718, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for quixotic

Don Quixote

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More Definitions for quixotic

quixotic

adjective
How to pronounce quixotic (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of quixotic

formal : hopeful or romantic in a way that is not practical

See the full definition for quixotic in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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More from Merriam-Webster on quixotic

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with quixotic

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for quixotic

Spanish Central: Translation of quixotic

Nglish: Translation of quixotic for Spanish Speakers

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