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