Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Quixotic |
QuixoticAdjective1. Not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic; "as quixotic as a restoration of medieval knighthood"; "a romantic disregard for money"; "a wild-eyed dream of a world state". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "quixotic" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1615. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | QUIXOTIC, adj. Absurdly chivalric, like Don Quixote. An insight into the beauty and excellence of this incomparable adjective is unhappily denied to him who has the misfortune to know that the gentleman's name is pronounced Ke-ho-tay. When ignorance from out of our lives can banish Philology, 'tis folly to know Spanish. Juan Smith. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Literature | Quixotic Having foolish and unpractical ideas of honour, or schemes for the general good, like Don Quixote, a half-crazy reformer or knight of the supposed distressed. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: QuixoticSynonyms: romantic (adj), wild-eyed (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Imagination | Romantic, high flown, flighty, extravagant, fanatic, enthusiastic, unrealistic, Utopian, Quixotic. |
Rashness | Hot-blooded, hotheaded, hotbrained; headlong, headstrong; breakneck; foolhardy; harebrained; precipitate, impulsive. overconfident, overweening; venturesome, venturous; adventurous, Quixotic, fire eating, cavalier; janty, jaunty, free and easy. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Quixotic |
| English words defined with "quixotic": knight errantry, Knight-errantry ♦ quixotically, quixotism ♦ romantic ♦ wild-eyed. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "quixotic": QUIXOTE ♦ Rozinante. (references) |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| "Quixotic" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 95.35% of the time. "Quixotic" is used about 43 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 95.35% | 41 | 53,521 |
| Noun (singular) | 4.65% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 43 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
quixotic | 21 |
define quixotic | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "quixotic"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | donkishotesk. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | وهمي (airy, airy fairy, astral, chimerical, delusive, delusory, dummy, fallacious, fanciful, fantastic, made up, mirage, mythical, notional, paper, phantom, putative, romantic, subjective, unreal, unsubstantial, utopian, visionary), خيالي (aerial, chimerical, conceptual, fancied, fanciful, fancy, fantast, fantastic, fictional, fictitious, fictive, figment, ideal, ideational, imaginary, imaginative, impracticable, mythical, notional, romantic, unreal, utopian, visionary), المثالي (ideal, idealist, utopist). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | донкихотовски. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 基柯德式 (Quixotically). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | donkichotský. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | وابسته به دان کیشوت , خیالپرست , ارمان گرای . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | idéaliste, généreux, chimérique, chevaleresque. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | schwärmerisch (effusive, enraptured, enthusiastic, fanciful, gooey, gushing, infatuated, lyric, lyrical, lyrically, quixotically), ritterlich (chivalric, chivalrous, chivalrously, gallant, knightlily, knightly, quixotically), idealistisch (idealistic, quixotically), edelmütig (high minded, magnanimous, noble, nobly, quixotically). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | δονκιχωτικόσ. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | gyakorlatiatlan, felhõkben járó, donkihótei. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | melamun (attach, day-dream, vacant). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | donchisciottesco. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ixoticquay quixotesco (chivalrous). (various references) донкихотский. (various references) kihotovski. (various references) quijotesco. (various references) svärmisk (dreamy), idealisk (ideal), donquijotisk. (various references) umutsuzca idealist, hayalperest (day dreamer, dreamer, dreamy, escapist, fanciful, illusionist, imaginative, notional, stargazer, vaporous, visionary), don kişot gibi. (various references) докіхотський. (various references) như Đông-ki-sốt, h o hiệp viển vông. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "quixotic": quixotical, quixotically. (additional references) | |
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"Quixotic" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: qiixotic, qiuxotic, quiotic, quioxtic, quixdotic, quixiotic, quixote, Quixotes, quixotico, quixotid, quixotivc, quixoyic, quixtotic. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "quixotic" (pronounced kwiksÄ"tik) |
| 4 | -Ä" t i k | antibiotic, aquatic, astronautic, chaotic, despotic, erotic, exotic, hypnotic, idiotic, narcotic, neurotic, patriotic, psychotic, robotic, semiotic, symbiotic, unpatriotic. |
| 3 | -t i k | acetic, acoustic, acrobatic, aerobatic, aesthetic, agnostic, alphabetic, altruistic, amniotic, anachronistic, analytic, anesthetic, antagonistic, Antarctic, antic, anticlimactic, antiseptic, aortic, apathetic, apocalyptic, apologetic, apoplectic, arctic, aristocratic, arithmetic, aromatic, arthritic, artistic, ascetic, asthmatic, asymptomatic, atavistic, atheistic, athletic, attic, authentic, autistic, autocratic, automatic, axiomatic, ballistic, bombastic, bureaucratic, capitalistic, catalytic, cathartic, caustic, characteristic, charismatic, chauvinistic, chiropractic, cinematic, climactic, climatic, coloristic, cosmetic, critic, cryptic, cultic, cystic, democratic, dendritic, deterministic, diabetic, diagnostic, diagrammatic, dialectic, diamagnetic, didactic, dietetic, diplomatic, diuretic, dogmatic, domestic, dramatic, drastic, drumstick, dualistic, dynastic, ecclesiastic, eclectic, ecliptic, ecstatic, elastic, electrolytic, electromagnetic, electrostatic, emblematic, emetic, empathetic, emphatic, energetic, enigmatic, enthusiastic, enzymatic, epigenetic, epileptic, erratic, euphemistic, evangelistic, expressionistic, extragalactic, fanatic, fantastic, fatalistic, ferromagnetic, feudalistic, fiberoptic, frantic, frenetic, futuristic, galactic, genetic, geomagnetic, gigantic, granitic, gymnastic, halophytic, hectic, hedonistic, hemolytic, hepatic, heretic, hermaphroditic, holistic, homeostatic, homiletic, humanistic, hyperkinetic, iconoclastic, idealistic, idiomatic, idiosyncratic, imperialistic, impressionistic, individualistic, inelastic, interscholastic, jingoistic, journalistic, kinesthetic, kinetic, lactic, legalistic, linguistic, logistic, lymphatic, magnetic, majestic, masochistic, materialistic, mathematic, mechanistic, melodramatic, militaristic, monastic, monochromatic, monopolistic, moralistic, mystic, narcissistic, nationalistic, naturalistic, neritic, novelistic, numismatic, oligopolistic, onomastic, operatic, opportunistic, optic, optimistic, orthodontic, pancreatic, pantheistic, paralytic, paramagnetic, parasitic, parasympathetic, parthenogenetic, paternalistic, pathetic, patristic, pectic, pedantic, peptic, peripatetic, pessimistic, phonetic, phosphatic, plastic, pluralistic, pneumatic, poetic, polytheistic, porphyritic, posttraumatic, pragmatic, primitivistic, prismatic, problematic, programmatic, propagandistic, prophetic, prophylactic, prostatic, prosthetic, psychoanalytic, psychosomatic, psychotherapeutic, puristic, realistic, relativistic, rheumatic, ritualistic, romantic, rustic, sadistic, sarcastic, schematic, scholastic, semantic, semiautomatic, sensationalistic, septic, simplistic, skeptic, socialistic, static, statistic, stylistic, surrealistic, sycophantic, sympathetic, symptomatic, synergistic, synthetic, systematic, tactic, technocratic, terroristic, thematic, theocratic, therapeutic, thermoplastic, thrombolytic, transatlantic, traumatic, triptych, unapologetic, unauthentic, uncharacteristic, undemocratic, undiplomatic, unenthusiastic, unrealistic, unsympathetic, voyeuristic. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-i-i-o-q-t-u-x" | |
-3 letters: quoit, toxic. | |
-4 letters: otic, quit. | |
-5 letters: cot, cox, cut, out, tic, tui, tux. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-i-i-o-q-t-u-x" | |
+2 letters: quixotical. | |
+4 letters: quixotically. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Usage Frequency 6. Expressions: Internet 7. Translations: Modern 8. Derivations | 9. Rhymes 10. Anagrams 11. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
