Quixotic
adjective /kwɪkˈsɒtɪk/ — Exceedingly idealistic — chasing the impossible with conviction.
Definition
Exceedingly idealistic; romantic in a way that ignores practical realities. Pursuing goals that are visionary, impractical, or frankly impossible — but with such sincerity that the impracticality seems beside the point.
Beyond the definition
Quixotic is not entirely an insult. The word carries a tenderness — Don Quixote was ridiculous, yes, but he was also the only person in the room who believed in something. In a cynical world, quixotic conviction can look a lot like courage.
Origin & history
From Don Quixote — Cervantes's 1605 novel about a man so addicted to chivalric romances that he mistakes windmills for giants and ordinary life for epic adventure. His name became an adjective within decades of the novel's publication.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The whole plan was quixotic, but everyone in the room secretly hoped it would work.
She loved his quixotic belief that kindness always wins in the end.
Quixotic doesn't mean wrong. Sometimes it means early.
How to use it
This entry uses an adjective. Follow the examples for the nouns it describes and its position in the sentence.
Choose “Quixotic” when the meaning fits your context: Exceedingly idealistic; romantic in a way that ignores practical realities. Pursuing goals that are visionary, impractical, or frankly impossible — but with such sincerity that the impracticality seems beside the point.
Synonyms
idealistic, visionary, impractical, romantic, chivalric
Antonyms
Related words
Quixotic vs chimerical
Quixotic describes an idealistic pursuit that is noble but impractical. Chimerical suggests a vision or plan that is purely fantastical and impossible to achieve.
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
The plan was, objectively, impractical. The odds were against it. The people closest to her had said, with varying degrees of kindness, that they admired her for trying.
She understood the impracticality. She had done the maths. The maths was not encouraging.
She continued anyway — not because she'd found a flaw in the maths, but because the alternative was to not try, and not trying felt, to her, like its own kind of failure. The word for this is not delusion. It is something harder to sustain and harder to explain.
Questions about this word
What does "Quixotic" mean?
Quixotic is adjective meaning: Exceedingly idealistic — chasing the impossible with conviction.. Exceedingly idealistic; romantic in a way that ignores practical realities. Pursuing goals that are visionary, impractical, or frankly impossible — but with such sincerity that the impracticality seems beside the point.
Where does the word "Quixotic" come from?
From Don Quixote — Cervantes's 1605 novel about a man so addicted to chivalric romances that he mistakes windmills for giants and ordinary life for epic adventure. His name became an adjective within decades of the novel's publication.