don quixote

Học thuật
Thân thiện
Definition
  1. Proper noun:
    • An impractical idealist: A person who is guided by lofty but unrealistic ideals, often ignoring practical considerations. This meaning derives from the literary character.
    • The literary hero: The protagonist of the early 17th-century Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, a gentleman who, after reading too many chivalric romances, decides to become a knight-errant.
Usage
  • The term Don Quixote is used to describe a person whose ideals are noble but whose actions are impractical or out of touch with reality.
  • When referring to the character, it is always capitalized.
Examples
  • As a descriptor for a person:
    • He was a modern-day Don Quixote, tilting at windmills by trying to reform the entire political system single-handedly.
    • Her plan to end world hunger with a bake sale was seen as a bit Quixotic.
  • Referring to the literary character:
    • In Cervantes' novel, Don Quixote recruits a farmer named Sancho Panza to be his squire.
    • The story of Don Quixote's adventures is a classic of Western literature.
Advanced Usage
  • Quixotic (adjective): Describes ideas or actions that are exceedingly idealistic, unrealistic, and impractical.
    • Launching a startup with no funding was a quixotic endeavor.
  • To tilt at windmills: An idiom meaning to fight imaginary enemies or attack nonexistent problems, taken directly from an episode in .
    • The activist accused the mayor of tilting at windmills instead of addressing real issues.
Variants and Related Words
  • Quixotism (noun): The quality or state of being quixotic; impractical idealism.
    • His quixotism, while admirable, often led to failure.
  • Quixotically (adverb): In a quixotic manner.
    • He quixotically believed he could change the world with poetry.
Synonyms
  • Dreamer: A person who dreams or has idealistic goals.
  • Idealist: A person guided by ideals, especially unrealistically.
  • Romantic: A person characterized by idealism and a focus on emotion.
Related Idioms and Phrases
  • Tilting at windmills: As described above, this phrase is directly derived from the novel and is the most common idiomatic use related to Don Quixote.
    • You're just tilting at windmills if you think you can convince them to change a century-old tradition.
Noun
  1. any impractical idealist (after Cervantes' hero)
  2. the hero of a romance by Cervantes; chivalrous but impractical

Từ đồng nghĩa