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Definition of quixotic


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Definition: (verb) to act to reconcile differences between two parties.
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quix·ot·ic  audio  (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).

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)


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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