quixotic
Resembling or characteristic of the Spanish chivalric hero Don QuixoteResembling or characteristic of the Spanish chivalric hero Don Quixote; possessed with or resulting from the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» It may have been a quixotic quest, but surprisingly enough, it was successful.
Das Unterfangen mag sehr wohl ein Hirngespinst gewesen sein, jedoch war es überraschenderweise von Erfolg gekrönt. — raggione
AlanF_US · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 sensesResembling or characteristic of the Spanish chivalric hero Don Quixote; possessed with or resulting from the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality.
quichottisch, lebensfremd, realitätsfern
донкихо́тскийdonkixótskij
Overly optimistic and moralistic.
Exceedingly idealistic.
- not sensible about practical matters; idealistic and unrealistic
Examples
4 sentencesIt may have been a quixotic quest, but surprisingly enough, it was successful.
deDas Unterfangen mag sehr wohl ein Hirngespinst gewesen sein, jedoch war es überraschenderweise von Erfolg gekrönt. — raggione
What does quixotic mean exactly?
It's a rather quixotic goal.
deEs ist ein ziemlich unrealistisches Ziel. — Luiaard
It's true. Books really do have a Quixotic spell.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Derived from Spanish Quixote, the surname of Don Quixote, the title character in the novelDerived from Spanish Quixote, the surname of Don Quixote, the title character in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, + -ic.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
more quixotic, most quixotic| Comparative | more quixotic Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most quixotic Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
2 synonymsWord family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.