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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “quixotic”

“quixotic” is pronounced /kwɪkˈsɑtɪk/ (kwik-SAH-tik) in American English and /kwɪksɒtɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ot”.
The sound

Say “quixotic” in 3 beats

Say it like this

quixotic

/kwɪkˈsɑtɪk/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kwɪksɒtɪk/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. quixkwɪk
  2. otsɑstress
  3. ictɪk
IPA (American)
/kwɪkˈsɑtɪk/
IPA (British)
/kwɪksɒtɪk/
Respelling
kwik-SAH-tik
Syllables
3 — quix-OT-ic
Stress
Stress the second syllable: quix-OT-ic. “ot” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kwɪkˈsɑtɪk/

British

/kwɪksɒtɪk/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “quixotic” means

  1. adjective

    not sensible about practical matters; idealistic and unrealistic

    “as quixotic as a restoration of medieval knighthood”

Say it in a sentence

“His quixotic plan to sail to Norway never happened.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
kk×3wwɪshort i×2ssɑahtt

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“quixotic”, answered

How do you pronounce “quixotic”?

“quixotic” is pronounced /kwɪkˈsɑtɪk/ (kwik-SAH-tik) in American English and /kwɪksɒtɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ot”. Build it as quix-OT-ic, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “quixotic” have?

3: quix · ot · ic. The beat lands on the second, “ot”.

Is “quixotic” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kwɪkˈsɑtɪk/ (kwik-SAH-tik); British English says /kwɪksɒtɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “quixotic” mean?

As an adjective: not sensible about practical matters; idealistic and unrealistic For example: “as quixotic as a restoration of medieval knighthood”

Where is the stress in “quixotic”?

Stress the second syllable: quix-OT-ic. “ot” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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