as in dreamer
one whose conduct is guided more by the image of perfection than by the real world
a latter-day Don Quixote, she's spent her life fighting the state's big logging companies
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Recent Examples of Don Quixote
Rushdie’s sprawling picaresque is, as the title promises, a riff on Don Quixote.
—
Erin Somers, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The bickering survivors of the Canterbury, led by reluctant captain Jim Holden (Steven Strait), become an unlikely band of freedom fighters/kingmakers after commandeering a Martian warship and rebranding it as the Rocinante (named after Don Quixote's horse).
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 14 Dec. 2025
Now, as Don Quixote, Losada is donning the armor that Jerry Gulledge, the actor who played the role in the Actors’ Playhouse production 30 years ago, wore.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 17 Nov. 2025
Combining the optimism of Don Quixote and Candide became the guide for my main character—an absolutely surreal, absurd optimist, who believes that even things way out of his league are possible for him.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Don Quixote
Erin Somers, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The bickering survivors of the Canterbury, led by reluctant captain Jim Holden (Steven Strait), become an unlikely band of freedom fighters/kingmakers after commandeering a Martian warship and rebranding it as the Rocinante (named after Don Quixote's horse).
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 14 Dec. 2025
Now, as Don Quixote, Losada is donning the armor that Jerry Gulledge, the actor who played the role in the Actors’ Playhouse production 30 years ago, wore.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 17 Nov. 2025
Combining the optimism of Don Quixote and Candide became the guide for my main character—an absolutely surreal, absurd optimist, who believes that even things way out of his league are possible for him.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Don Quixote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Don Quixote
Noun
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While a Tudor home is full of character and embodies the whimsy dreamers are drawn to, Brutalist architecture's strength and purpose speak to those who value respect over charm.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 May 2026
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Home to innovators, entrepreneurs, immigrants, workers, artists, and dreamers from every corner of the globe.—
Adam Miller,
Daily News,
23 May 2026
Noun
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In the bleak midwinter of 2022, the algorithm-allergic sporting director, an old romantic of football, took over Salernitana in dire straits.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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This is a space for artists, dreamers, romantics, and those looking to step into a slice of old-world Paris.—
Madeline Weinfield,
Architectural Digest,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Don Quixote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Don%20Quixote. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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