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
-
There are a few different interpretations and uses of the phrase, but the most popular is as a term of romantic interest.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
9 July 2025 -
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
Adjective
-
Aside from being impractical, the new importation strategy would leave America’s drug supply vulnerable to dangerous counterfeit medicines from abroad.—
Sally C. Pipes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 July 2025
-
However, for many travelers who take only one or two flights a year, that's impractical advice.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
František, the more optimistic and quixotic of the two, has spent the last 20 years attempting to build a flying perpetuum machine — daydreamy compensation, perhaps, for having lost an arm in a sawmill accident decades before.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
11 July 2025
-
Trump also hinted that a deal with Harvard was imminent, but some Harvard faculty worried about the terms of a prospective deal appearing to look like capitulation, while others worried that the university’s battle over purist principles of academic freedom was quixotic and too costly.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
7 July 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
-
From an idealistic kid to a ‘police officer in reverse’ Slosar is the product of the brief union of a couple who married too young, according to his mother.—
Kristine Phillips,
IndyStar,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
Here, businesses can grow without the weight of government regulation or woke ideological agendas.—
Mike Dunleavy,
New York Daily News,
14 July 2025
-
Advertisement Beyond religious and ideological attacks, 14.3% of posts contained nativist language calling for Mamdani's deportation or citizenship revocation.—
Juwayriah Wright,
Time,
9 July 2025
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 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share