Pollyannish vs. Quixotic — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Pollyannish and Quixotic
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Pollyannish
Alternative form of Pollyannish
Quixotic
Extremely idealistic; unrealistic and impractical
A vast and perhaps quixotic project
Quixotic
Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality.
Quixotic
Capricious; impulsive
"At worst his scruples must have been quixotic, not malicious" (Louis Auchincloss).
Quixotic
Resembling or characteristic of the Spanish chivalric hero Don Quixote; possessed with or resulting from the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality; exceedingly idealistic.
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Quixotic
(rare) A quixotic person or sentiment.
Quixotic
Like Don Quixote; romantic to extravagance; prone to pursue unrealizable goals; absurdly chivalric; apt to be deluded. See also quixotism.
Quixotic
Like the deeds of Don Quixote; ridiculously impractical; unachievable; extravagantly romantic; doomed to failure; as, a quixotic quest.
The word "quixotic" . . . has entered the common language, with the meaning "hopelessly naive and idealistic," "ridiculously impractical," "doomed to fail." That this epithet can be used now in an exclusively pejorative sense not only shows that we have ceased to read Cervantes and to understand his character, but more fundamentally it reveals that our culture has drifted away from its spiritual roots.
Quixotic
Not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic;
As quixotic as a restoration of medieval knighthood
A romantic disregard for money
A wild-eyed dream of a world state
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