quixotism

1 9.9

Trying to do noble, romantic things that are unrealistic

noun
/kwɪkˈsɒtɪzəm/

: quijotismo

Many admire her quixotism, but they worry about her impractical approach to solving real problems.

Examples

Despite the challenges, his quixotism pushed him to chase his dream of building a utopian community.
Her quixotism led her to believe that she could single-handedly save the environment.
By pretending to satirize its own genre, i.e., the romance, Female Quixotism seems to agree with moralists who feared the harmful effects of novel reading on the female character.

Academic text (1995)

Synonyms

idealism

vsquixotism

33 5.6

Belief in following high moral goals even when not practical

focuses more on emotional, lofty aims expressed in an unrealistic, impractical way

romanticism

vsquixotism

4 6.8

A belief in perfect love that seems unrealistic

covers lofty impractical aims beyond personal feelings or relationships

knight errantry

vsquixotism

Archaic

1 9.9

The practice of knights traveling to find brave, noble adventures

is about pursuing lofty impractical ideals rather than physical quests

Antonyms

realism

24 4.5

A way of thinking that accepts facts and prefers practical plans

pragmatism

15 5.6

A practical way of solving problems that focuses on what works

How Idealistic

utopianism

2 8.3

quixotism

1 9.9

idealism

33 5.6

romanticism

4 6.8

wishful thinking

Informal

45 4.1

Surface Forms

quixotism singular

quixotisms plural

Morphology

quixotism = quixotic (transparent) = quixotic + ism

Derived from the adjective 'quixotic' with the productive suffix '-ism' meaning the state or practice of being quixotic, so the meaning follows directly from the base.

Etymology

Quixotism comes from the character Don Quixote in a Spanish novel by Cervantes; he chased impossible adventures and famously attacked windmills he thought were giants. So quixotism means following romantic but 'unrealistic' ideas, and the same root appears in quixotic.