quixotishadj.
/kwɪkˈsɒtɪʃ/, U.S. /kwɪkˈsɑdɪʃ/ = quixotic adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > faculty of conceiving ideals > tendency towards romance > romantic conduct > [adjective]
errantical1612
errantic1654
quixotical1657
Quixote1708
quixotish1743
quixotic1777
errant1822
1743 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 477/2 When they have suffer'd us to spend the first Fire of our Quixotish Bravery against Stone-Walls.
1803 H. L. Piozzi Diary July in Thraliana (1942) II. 1039 Great Britain may if She is Quixotish enough to desire it—set a Bourbon on the Throne of France.
1810 P. B. Shelley Let. 20 May (1964) I. 11 I act unlike every other mortal enough in all conscience, without seeking for more Quixotish adventures.
1852 U.S. Democratic Rev. Apr. 381 Nothing can more strongly display the total ignorance of Judge Douglas or of his friends as to the office or duty of the press, than such outré and merely Quixotish attempts by individual newspapers.
1910 Times 1 Oct. 13/4 Strauss's intellectual activity is marked by a freakish, Quixotish humour.
1976 Operational Res. Q. 27 270 It would be quixotish to rely on the threatened but dominant category agreeing voluntarily to forego its advantage.
2004 Arkansas Democratic Gaz. (Nexis) 22 Nov. The state senator who just lost a race for the U.S. Senate is already pondering his next quixotish run.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1743