Don Quixote

noun

ˌdän-kē-ˈ(h)ō-tē How to pronounce Don Quixote (audio)
Definition of Don Quixotenext
as in dreamer
one whose conduct is guided more by the image of perfection than by the real world a latter-day Don Quixote, she's spent her life fighting the state's big logging companies

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of Don Quixote Success finally came with Don Quixote, a novel about a knight-errant whose adventures are inspired by the author’s earlier days. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May 2026 Spoiler alert on this 400-year-old novel, but Don Quixote doesn't actually slay any giants or rescue any princesses. — Meg Anderson, NPR, 22 Mar. 2026 Perhaps Albacete could even emulate Don Quixote. — Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026 During the home’s expansion years, the Mitchells also commissioned Italian artist Bosch to create a series of Don Quixote tile murals for the courtyard—details that still speak to the estate’s early ambition and cultural reach. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 21 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for Don Quixote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Don Quixote
  1. dreamer
  2. romantic
Noun
  • The Holbrook sisters are undersocialized and inexperienced with the world, and Herzog sees them as figures out of a fable, dreamers who talk incessantly about love and seem connected to the elemental and the ancient.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
  • San Francisco Playhouse is currently presenting the musical, helmed by company artistic director Bill English (with Phaedra Tillery-Boughton credited as associate director) and starring Ella Ruth Francis as the indefatigable dreamer Tracy Turnblad.
    — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of dreamer
Noun
  • Many researchers and romantics alike believe this could be one of the earliest depictions of human affection.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Starring Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro, the rom-com follows two hopeless romantics who spark a connection on the one night of the year singles are legally allowed to have sex.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of romantic

Browse Nearby Words

do-nothings
Don Quixote
Don Quixotes
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Cite this Entry

“Don Quixote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Don%20Quixote. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on Don Quixote

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Don Quixote

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