Definition of quixotic

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quix·ot·ic    (kwk-stk) KEY  also quix·ot·i·cal  (--kl) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:

1. Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality.
2. Capricious; impulsive: "At worst his scruples must have been quixotic, not malicious" (Louis Auchincloss).

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ETYMOLOGY:
From English Quixote, a visionary, after Don Quixote, hero of a romance by Miguel de Cervantes

OTHER FORMS:
quix·oti·cal·ly(Adverb), quixo·tism  (kwks-tzm) KEY (Noun)