tonto

== English == === Pronunciation === === Etymology 1 === Borrowed from Spanish tonto (“stupid, foolish; idiot, fool”), of uncertain etymology. Originally in US use but now chiefly British. Cf. earlier Tonto, with which it is sometimes confused. ==== Noun ==== tonto (plural tontos) (slang) Synonym of idiot: someone who is foolish or stupid. ==== Adjective ==== tonto (comparative more tonto, superlative most tonto) (slang, possibly offensive) Synonym of crazy. 1982 Feb. 26, New York Times, A10: He told the businessmen that the law that required the certification by the President was ‘tonto’. 1985 Jan. 31, Listener, p. 34: His two heroes are both ex-FO types and both terminally tonto about cricket. 2021 Feb. 23, Robert Ben L. Wallace, comment at Horse Guards: Whether you're based in Cyprus or you know we do longer tours in Kenya or Oman or are busy just making it to the brigade at the moment up in Estonia, you know it's going to be a busy army and unfortunately we've got a busy adversary now in Putin. Gone full tonto, I think, as I'd say, and you know that's going to be quite... We've got 1,000 people on standby. ===== Usage notes ===== Because of the Native American sense of Tonto popularized by its use as the name of the sidekick of the Lone Ranger, even as a Spanish loanword this term can be understood as a racial slur in English, due to the translation from Spanish to stupid or slow witted. However the word is also found in the Apache language and here translates into “wild one” === Etymology 2 === ==== Noun ==== tonto (uncountable) a traditional Ugandan fermented beverage made from bananas === References === “tonto, n. and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. === Anagrams === Toton == Asturian == === Adjective === tonto neuter of tontu == Galician == === Etymology === Unknown. Compare Asturian tontu, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese tonto, Romanian tont or tânt. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtonto/ [ˈt̪on̪.t̪ʊ] Rhymes: -onto Hyphenation: ton‧to === Adjective === tonto (feminine tonta, masculine plural tontos, feminine plural tontas) foolish, stupid Synonym: parvo silly Synonym: parvo === Noun === tonto m (plural tontos, feminine tonta, feminine plural tontas) a fool Synonym: parvo ==== Derived terms ==== === References === Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “tonto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “tonto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “tonto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN == Italian == === Etymology === Of unclear origin. Compare Portuguese tonto, Romanian tont or tânt, and Spanish tonto. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈton.to/ Rhymes: -onto Hyphenation: tón‧to === Adjective === tonto (feminine tonta, masculine plural tonti, feminine plural tonte) stupid, silly, dumb, foolish ==== Derived terms ==== intontire === Noun === tonto m (plural tonti, feminine tonta) a fool, a stupid person goof === Further reading === tonto in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana == Portuguese == === Etymology === Of unclear origin. Compare Italian tonto, Romanian tont or tânt, and Spanish tonto. === Pronunciation === Hyphenation: ton‧to === Adjective === tonto (feminine tonta, masculine plural tontos, feminine plural tontas) dizzy stupid Synonyms: anormal, bobo, estúpido, idiota, pateta; see also Thesaurus:idiota silly, foolish Synonyms: bobo, pateta, tolo === Noun === tonto m (plural tontos, feminine tonta, feminine plural tontas) a fool, a stupid person Synonyms: see Thesaurus:idiota === Related terms === === Further reading === “tonto”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “tonto”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Etymology === Uncertain. Latin attonitus has been proposed, but there are phonological difficulties, namely unexpected loss of initial /a/ and lack of diphthongization; cf. the expected outcome atuendo. Tonto may have an expressive or onomatopoeic origin. Another hypothesis is that it derives from *tontum, a 'vulgar' past participle for Latin tondeo (“to shear”). Compare Italian tonto, Portuguese tonto, and Romanian tont, tânt, Sicilian ntontu. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtonto/ [ˈt̪õn̪.t̪o] Rhymes: -onto Syllabification: ton‧to === Adjective === tonto (feminine tonta, masculine plural tontos, feminine plural tontas) (derogatory, mildly offensive) stupid Synonyms: bobo, estúpido, idiota, retrasado, subnormal, tarado silly, foolish Synonym: bobo ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Cebuano: tonto → Tagalog: tonto → Tetelcingo Nahuatl: tunto === Noun === tonto m (plural tontos, feminine tonta, feminine plural tontas) a fool, a stupid person ==== Usage notes ==== Although in some contexts zonzo, bobo, tonto, menso, culero, tarado, idiota, imbécil, estúpido and pendejo may be synonyms, in most contexts they have a different degree of intensity, with zonzo having the mildest connotation, increasing in intensity in that rough order, to estúpido and pendejo, which have the most offensive meaning. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== === References === Badia i Margarit, Antoni M. (ed.) 2006. Homenatge de l'IEC a Joan Coromines, en el centenari de la seva naixença. Barcelona: Institut d'estudis Catalans. Pages 68–70. === Further reading === “tonto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 == Tagalog == === Etymology === Borrowed from Spanish tonto. === Pronunciation === (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈtonto/ [ˈt̪on̪.t̪o] Rhymes: -onto Syllabification: ton‧to === Adjective === tonto (feminine tonta, Baybayin spelling ᜆᜓᜈ᜔ᜆᜓ) (informal, vulgar, offensive) stupid; foolish; silly Synonyms: bobo, tanga, tunggak, gunggong, estupido === Noun === tonto (feminine tonta, Baybayin spelling ᜆᜓᜈ᜔ᜆᜓ) (informal, vulgar, offensive) fool; idiot; simpleton; dunce Synonyms: bobo, tanga, inutil, gunggong, estupido === Further reading === “tonto”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018