as in romantic
having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality
in this age of giant chain stores, any attempt at operating an independent bookstore must be regarded as quixotic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quixotic
There’s a quixotic gallantry to appealing to a saner conservative and looking ahead to a post-Trump American politics.
—
James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
But Cruz’s quixotic effort did succeed in a couple of ways.
—David M. Drucker, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
The quixotic quarterback decision that sealed the end.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 30 July 2025
My lab has been on a decade-long quixotic adventure to study awake infants with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a form of brain imaging that can measure activity from regions deep in the brain such as the hippocampus.
—Nick Turk-Browne, Scientific American, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for quixotic
James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
But Cruz’s quixotic effort did succeed in a couple of ways.
—David M. Drucker, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
The quixotic quarterback decision that sealed the end.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 30 July 2025
My lab has been on a decade-long quixotic adventure to study awake infants with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a form of brain imaging that can measure activity from regions deep in the brain such as the hippocampus.
—Nick Turk-Browne, Scientific American, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for quixotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quixotic
Adjective
-
The romantic drama is in theaters March 13 Colleen Hoover is bringing another romantic drama to the big screen.—
Benjamin VanHoose,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Although the looks were from pre-spring 2026, the mood was romantic, and nodded to the fall 2025 collection.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
If there’s a force majeure clause in the new rights contracts that allows the NBA’s media partners to temporarily halt running sportsbook ads when an unforeseeable event makes such airings impractical, it’s hidden under a tide of black ink.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Robots have become indispensable in environments where high radiation or structural complexity makes human intervention dangerous or impractical.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In a similar vein, pardon the pun, comes this Frank Wildhorn gothic musical about a Victorian-era doctor with two personalities, one an idealistic doctor, the other an evil murderer.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Set in the Deep South, the film follows Coach Walt McFadden, played by Michael Mosley (Ozark), a talented but idealistic assistant coach at Louisiana University who’s out of second chances.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In times of uncertainty, particularly under the growing threat of totalitarianism, utopian fantasies provide a way to reflect on the situation and, potentially, outline a path toward a positive outcome.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Commissioned by Lincoln Center, the solarpunk narrative explores themes of survival, climate reckoning, and generational power struggles aboard a floating utopian colony in the Pacific Ocean.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Wish-casting a better result for a confrontation in a different place, Vindman suppresses how much and how often America antagonized Russia through its idealist actions, rather than realist inaction.—
Samuel Moyn,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
-
This, in turn, becomes logically reliant on the idealist paradigm of Consciousness as the fundamental lowest common denominator of reality.—
Carlo Tortora Brayda,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quixotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quixotic. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share