as in romantic
having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality
a quixotical attempt to bring live theater to a generation hooked on video games
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quixotical
Adjective
-
Expecting a romantic interlude, he is horrified to find Jenny’s lifeless body artfully arranged on the bed.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 June 2026 -
One of the island’s most iconic (and also inherently romantic) experiences is closing out the day in Mallory Square or aboard a catamaran cruise as the sky turns shades of pink and orange over the Gulf.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
Water is also a precious resource in space, making traditional washing impractical.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
2 June 2026
-
Physical storage, custody and transportation can make direct ownership impractical for many companies.—
Anthony Milewski,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
That may explain the turn to unusual schemes such as offering homeowners the chance to host mini data centers, along with more quixotic proposals such as launching orbital data centers into space and floating AI data centers in the middle of the ocean.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
14 May 2026
-
In a quest that began to seem quixotic, Zimmerman finally found his ideal Sangaste rye during a recent sourcing trip to Finland, and now sells it as flour and whole berries.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And how did an idealistic protest for protecting Black lives turn into a circle of silence surrounding the killing of a Black teenager?—
NPR,
NPR,
4 June 2026
-
The best of them are idiosyncratic and idealistic in the extreme.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Quixotical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quixotical. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
