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quixotism

 - 2 dictionary results

quix⋅o⋅tism

  [kwik-suh-tiz-uhm]
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–noun
1. (sometimes initial capital letter) quixotic character or practice.
2. a quixotic idea or act.
Origin:
1660–70; ( Don ) Quixote + -ism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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quix·ot·ic   (kwĭk-sŏt'ĭk)   
adj.  

  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).


[From English Quixote, a visionary, after Don Quixote, hero of a romance by Miguel de Cervantes.]
quix·ot'i·cal·ly adv., quix'o·tism (kwĭk'sə-tĭz'əm) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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