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DictionaryRoot: -ic
English

-ic

connected with or characteristic of

Forms

  • -ic

Origin

Through French and Latin -icus from Greek -ikos.

Note

It can indicate a field, a material, a resemblance, or a tendency; it has no single literal meaning in every word.

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adjective

quixotic

kwik-SOT-ik/kwɪkˈsɑːtɪk/

Idealistic in an impractical or unrealistic way.

The knight's quixotic charge treats the ordinary windmill as a heroic opponent.

Don Quixote, an earnest, ill-equipped knight on a thin horse, charges an ordinary windmill with a lowered lance: heroic idealism directed at a plainly inappropriate opponent.
Etymology
quixotSpanishCervantes’ impractical hero
+icEnglishconnected with or characteristic of

Don Quixote became a type of someone pursuing visionary but impossible ideals. Calling a plan or person quixotic transfers the hero’s extravagant chivalry to idealism that is out of touch with practical reality.

In context

Storytime Haven347:26
You are acting very foolishly, rushing off to London on this quixotic mission. You won't find her. Besides, no woman is worth what you are risking in this wild-goose chase.
🌑 The Moon Rock 🌒 | A Haunting Tale of Mystery and Ambition by Arthur J. Rees

More examples

  • He makes a quixotic attempt to persuade every neighbor to give up driving.
  • The proposal is generous but quixotic, with no budget or staff.
  • They dismiss her campaign as quixotic, but she refuses to abandon it.

Forms

quixotic

quixotically adverb — In an idealistic but impractical way.

Similar words

idealistic
Emphasizes high principles without necessarily suggesting they are unrealistic.
impractical
Describes what cannot work well, without implying noble ideals.
utopian
Envisions a perfect society, often without practical means.