BharatNotes Quixotic
adjectiveUsage in a UPSC answer
However noble in spirit, a welfare scheme that promises universal prosperity without a credible fiscal roadmap risks remaining quixotic, inspiring rhetoric that founders on the hard realities of implementation.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
quixotically (adv), quixotism (n), quixotry (n), quixote (n, archaic)
Root
Coined from Don Quixote (Cervantes, 1605) + Latin -ic; name from Spanish quijote = thigh-armour, from Latin coxa = hip
Etymology
Coined in 1791 from Don Quixote, the romantic, impractical hero of Cervantes' satirical novel Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605), plus the suffix -ic; the name Quixote derives from Spanish quijote 'thigh-armour, cuisse', ultimately from Latin coxa 'hip'.
Memory Hook
Think of Don QUIXOTE charging at windmills he mistook for giants: a quixotic person nobly chases impossible, romantic dreams divorced from reality.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Idealistic to the point of impracticality, from Cervantes's Don Quixote. It is a critical word, so it should be used deliberately: calling a plan quixotic concedes the nobility of the aim while denying its feasibility. That makes it useful in Essay for weighing vision against practicability, but it is a judgement the answer must then support.
Don’t Confuse It With
Quixotic is nobly idealistic but impractical. Idealistic holds high principles without the implication of futility. Utopian describes an unattainable ideal society or scheme. Naive implies inexperience rather than excess of idealism.
Hindi Meaning
अव्यावहारिक आदर्शवादी (avyāvahārik ādarshvādī).
Common Questions
- What does quixotic mean?
- Extravagantly idealistic and unrealistic, from the character Don Quixote.
- Is quixotic a compliment?
- Only partly. It grants the nobility of the aim while denying its practicality, so it is a qualified criticism rather than praise.
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