Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective quixotic contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of quixotic are chimerical, fanciful, fantastic, imaginary, and visionary. While all these words mean "unreal or unbelievable," quixotic implies a devotion to romantic or chivalrous ideals unrestrained by ordinary prudence and common sense.

a quixotic crusade

How does the word chimerical relate to other synonyms for quixotic?

Chimerical combines the implication of visionary and fantastic.

chimerical dreams of future progress

When can fanciful be used instead of quixotic?

The words fanciful and quixotic can be used in similar contexts, but fanciful suggests the free play of the imagination.

a teller of fanciful stories

When would fantastic be a good substitute for quixotic?

While the synonyms fantastic and quixotic are close in meaning, fantastic implies incredibility or strangeness beyond belief.

a fantastic world inhabited by monsters

When is imaginary a more appropriate choice than quixotic?

The meanings of imaginary and quixotic largely overlap; however, imaginary applies to something which is fictitious and purely the product of one's imagination.

an imaginary desert isle

When is it sensible to use visionary instead of quixotic?

While in some cases nearly identical to quixotic, visionary stresses impracticality or incapability of realization.

visionary schemes

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 The paintings and songs also poke fun at the tradition of polling—this quixotic attempt to distill the desires of millions into tidy figures. Literary Hub, 4 June 2025 Now, he’s evolved into full-time daddy mode, setting off into a quixotic journey to the club in the big city. Vita Dadoo, Rolling Stone, 15 May 2025 Editors’ Picks More U.S. political news: A damning new book about Joe Biden depicts an aging president surrounded by family and aides who enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term. Natasha Frost, New York Times, 14 May 2025 There will be protests and lawsuits, but several brands ― from the old and historic to new and quixotic ― need to go, for the ultimate good of the automaker’s shareholders, workers and dealers. Mark Phelan, USA Today, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for quixotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quixotic
Adjective
  • Greta Lee, who broke out with her performance in the acclaimed romantic drama Past Lives, is stepping behind the camera.
    Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 9 July 2025
  • Moreover, in romantic relationships, those who self-distanced were more likely to problem-solve constructively and less likely to escalate conflicts.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Adjective
  • By contrast, the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands have been allocated to Wi-Fi for a long time, are heavily used, and modifying existing devices to stop using parts of the bands would be impractical.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2025
  • This sheer volume makes manual auditing impractical and reinforces the need for intelligent tools that can scale.
    Prashant Kondle, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • Exhibiting an eclectic array of academic excellence, robust pursuit of agricultural and STEM innovations, and idealistic ambitions, they are headed to prestigious universities, including CalTech, Cornell, MIT, Northwestern, and Cal Poly.
    News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2025
  • Bruckheimer also suggested that Denzel Washington, who played an idealistic executive officer locked in a heated battle for control of a nuclear submarine against Gene Hackman’s domineering commanding officer, might be convinced to take another trip beneath the waves.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Advertisement While the setting of Brokeback Mountain, where the pair first works together herding sheep, provides secluded idyll along the (theoretically) utopian lines of Fire Island, Jack and Ennis are largely divorced from gay culture.
    Rich Juzwiak, Time, 24 June 2025
  • Here was a community built on collectivist and utopian principles that had decided 88 years after its founding to disband.
    JOSEPH TORIGIAN, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • Labour leader Starmer, though, has taken a realist rather than an idealist approach to the president, putting Britain's foreign policy interests above the strong opposition to Trump in the rank and file of his own party.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Quixotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quixotic. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

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