Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word. Quixotic

Correct — C. Quixotic means extremely idealistic: unrealistic and impractical in pursuit of noble aims.

Its opposite is pragmatic, dealing with things sensibly and realistically, on practical rather than theoretical grounds → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Romantic — Romantic, in its sense of an idealised view of reality, is close to quixotic. A near-synonym cannot be the antonym.
• (b)
  Visionary — Visionary means imaginative about the future, and can also mean utopian, as in a visionary scheme that cannot be carried out. Both senses lean the same way as quixotic.
• (d)
  Idealistic — Idealistic is the core of quixotic's own definition. It is a synonym, the reverse of what an antonym question asks for.

Quixotic comes from Don Quixote, the hero of Miguel de Cervantes's novel, who rides out as a knight to right the world's wrongs and attacks windmills he takes for giants.

So the word means idealistic to the point of impracticality: a quixotic campaign is noble and doomed.

For the antonym, cross to the other side of that line, realistic and practical. That is pragmatic.

Key facts

• Quixotic means exceedingly idealistic, unrealistic and impractical.
• The word comes from Don Quixote, the hero of Cervantes's novel.
• Pragmatic means dealing with things sensibly and realistically, on practical grounds.
• Tilting at windmills, from the same novel, means attacking imaginary enemies.

Common traps

• Choosing Visionary because it sounds like the opposite of a flaw, when it sits on the same side as quixotic
• Reading quixotic as quick or quirky from its sound, and then looking for the antonym of the wrong word

No directly related past PYQ was found.