Don Quixote

noun

Don Qui·​xote ˌdän-kē-ˈ(h)ō-tē 

ˌdäŋ-;

 chiefly British  dän-ˈkwik-sət

: an impractical idealist

Synonyms

• dreamer
• fantast
• idealist
• idealizer
• ideologue
• idealogue
• romantic
• romanticist
• utopian
• visionary

Examples of Don Quixote in a Sentence

a latter-day Don Quixote, she's spent her life fighting the state's big logging companies

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, heat has been associated with physical and emotional endurance since the earliest modern novels — Don Quixote was very much toughing it out on his way to tilt at windmills. —Umair Irfan, Vox, 11 July 2024

For Spaniards, the resulting jamón Ibérico is as much of a cultural symbol as Picasso’s Cubist art, the red wines of Rioja, or Don Quixote’s windmills. —Sofia Perez, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 July 2024

Unity is the great elusive dream of Latin America, and Bolívar is its Don Quixote. —Ilan Stavans, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2013

Miller has appeared in Netflix’s Warrior Nun and The CW’s The 100, as well as films like Megan Leavey and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 26 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, hero of Cervantes' Don Quixote

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above