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Exotic vs Quixotic - What's the difference?

exotic | quixotic |

As adjectives the difference between exotic and quixotic

is that exotic is foreign, especially in an exciting way while quixotic is possessing or acting with the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality; exceedingly idealistic.

As a noun exotic

is an organism that is exotic to an environment.

exotic

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Foreign, especially in an exciting way.
  • * (John Evelyn) (1620-1706)
  • Nothing was so splendid and exotic as the ambassador.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1905, author=
  • , title= , chapter=2 citation , passage=“Two or three months more went by?; the public were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this semi-exotic claimant to an English peerage, and sensations, surpassing those of the Tichbourne case, were looked forward to with palpitating interest. […]”}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Travels and travails , passage=Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.}}
  • Non-native to the ecosystem.
  • Being or relating to an option with features that make it more complex than commonly traded options.
  • Derived terms

    * exotically * exoticness * exotic atom * exotic baryon * exotic cheroot * exotic dancer * exotic sphere

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (biology) An organism that is exotic to an environment.
  • An exotic dancer; a stripteaser.
  • (physics) Any exotic particle.
  • Glueballs, theoretical particles composed only of gluons, are exotics .

    Derived terms

    * invasive exotic

    quixotic

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Possessing or acting with the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality; exceedingly idealistic.
  • Impulsive.
  • Like ; romantic to extravagance; absurdly chivalric; apt to be deluded.
  • Usage notes

    Although the term is derived from the name of the character Don Quixote, the letters qu and x are both read as is usual for English spelling ().

    Derived terms

    * quixotically