湖边社【每日一词】quixotic - adj. 唐吉诃德式的；狂想家的；愚侠的；不切实际的，异想天开的
Definition:
1: foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals
especially : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action
2: CAPRICIOUS, UNPREDICTABLE
Did you know?
Quixotic Has Roots in Literature
If you guessed that quixotic has something to do with Don Quixote, you're absolutely right. The hero of Miguel de Cervantes' 17th-century Spanish novel El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (in English "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha") didn't change the world by tilting at windmills, but he did leave a linguistic legacy in English. The adjective quixotic is based on his name and has been used to describe unrealistic idealists since at least the early 18th century. The novel has given English other words as well. Dulcinea, the name of Quixote's beloved, has come to mean "mistress" or "sweetheart," and rosinante, which is sometimes used to refer to an old horse, comes from the name of the hero's less-than-gallant steed, Rocinante.
Synonyms
idealist,idealistic,quixotical,romantic,starry,utopian,visionary
Examples of quixotic in a Sentence
1 This is a vast, exciting and some say quixotic project.
2 The history of biblical oil prospecting is filled with quixotic quests and colorful characters, starting with Welsie Hancock, a wealthy California man who in the 1960s dreamed that Jesus told him he would find black gold in the Holy Land. He sunk his entire fortune into two dry holes. —Mariah Blake, Mother Jones, January and February 2008
3 They had quixotic dreams about the future.
4 Based on the realities of the primary calendar, a campaign beginning this late seems borderline quixotic. —Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2023
5 The 69-year-old environmental lawyer and antivaccine activist is waging a quixotic challenge to President Biden for the Democratic nomination. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023