quixotical

adjective

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for quixotical
  1. romantic
  2. impractical
  3. quixotic
  4. idealistic
Adjective
  • Once a farrier's shop, Bygones Cocktail Bar, centered on a horseshoe bar, has romantic lighting, cocktails executed with joy and delight, and a laissez-faire atmosphere.
    — Leslie Pariseau, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2026
  • And the cliffside cocktail bars provide a romantic stage where tourists gather for each Santorini sunset.
    — Rick Steves, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of romantic
Adjective
  • Their potential applications include modeling advanced materials and chemical reactions, optimizing complex logistics networks and addressing some computational problems that are impractical for today’s systems.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Spreadsheets cannot teach these dynamics, and real-world training may be dangerous, impractical or impossible.
    — Richard Clough, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of impractical
Adjective
  • The movie is a comic and affectionate portrait of a quixotic if mathematically dubious dream.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The scene happened to be the first clip that Valencia had translated and dubbed a decade ago, when his quixotic project had begun.
    — Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of quixotic
Adjective
  • This time, Michael sounds less idealistic and much more cynical.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Like Wilde, Basil possesses an idealistic devotion to beauty and love that proves his undoing.
    — Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of idealistic
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.

Browse Nearby Words

quixotic
quixotical
quiz
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Cite this Entry

“Quixotical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quixotical. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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