tonto

tonto noun: synonym of idiot: someone who is foolish or stupid.

Noun (1)

tonto (plural tontos)

(slang) Synonym of idiot: someone who is foolish or stupid.
- Even us tontos figured that one out.1973, Robert Ludlum, Trevayne, page 153
Synonyms:

idiot

Adjective

tonto (comparative more tonto, superlative most tonto)

(offensive, possibly, slang) Synonym of crazy.
- He told the businessmen that the law that required the certification by the President was ‘tonto’.1982 Feb. 26, New York Times, A10
- His two heroes are both ex-FO types and both terminally tonto about cricket.1985 Jan. 31, Listener, p. 34
Synonyms:

crazy

Noun (2)

tonto (uncountable)

a traditional Ugandan fermented beverage made from bananas

Proper noun capitalized: Tonto

Tonto

The Native American sidekick of the Lone Ranger.
A member of the Tonto Apaches.

Noun (3) capitalized: Tonto

Tonto (plural Tontos)

A sidekick.
- Salespeople may see themselves as Lone Rangers, not in need of any help, save for the occasional advice from a Tonto (or technical sales specialist).2004, Lee Godden, ZenWise Selling: Mindful Methods to Improve Your Sales, page 141
- Hardcastle realized he couldn't go it alone and would need a “Tonto.” He found his trusty sidekick in “Skid” Mark McCormack2006, Douglas Snauffer, Crime television, page 130
A Native American who accepts a subservient position to a white person.
- They called Indians like him — that is, any Indian who tried to make it by working within the system — a "Tonto."1982, Iron Eyes Cody with Collin Perry, Iron Eyes, my life as a Hollywood Indian
- Once more, Beyond the Survey takes up the topic, introducing a character Mowees (obviously an "Indianificarion" of the common Metis name Moise) who unfortunately never rises above the level of a Tonto figure.1999, Ellenor Ranghild Merriken, Looking for country: a Norwegian immigrant's Alberta memoir, page 21

Examples of tonto in a sentence

Oi, bruv. He's gone full tonto.
Yes, and then I got drunk one night and snogged one of his friends, and he went tonto.2011, Gil McNeil, Stand by Your Man, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:
George the bloody Third wasn't just mad, he was completely tonto!2014, Ben Elton, Time and Time Again, Random House, →ISBN:
Gone full tonto, I think, as I'd say, and you know that's going to be quite...2021 Feb. 23, Robert Ben L. Wallace, comment at Horse Guards

Synonyms of tonto

idiot
crazy

Forms of tonto

Noun
plural	tontos
plural	Tontos
Adjective
comparative	more tonto
superlative	most tonto

Origin of tonto

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.

From Spanish tonto (“fool, idiot”), the Spanish name for the tribe, a calque of Western Apache kounʼnde (“wild rough people”). The fictional character (described as Comanche or Potawatomi) either from Potawatomi [Term?] or named after Tonto Basin, Arizona.

Questions about tonto

What does tonto mean?: Tonto means synonym of idiot: someone who is foolish or stupid.
How do you use tonto in a sentence?: Oi, bruv. He's gone full tonto.
What part of speech is tonto?: Tonto can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
What is the plural of tonto?: The plural of tonto is tontos.

Words near tonto in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: tonto (page history and authors); Tonto (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-tonto.ogg.

Cite this entry: “tonto.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tonto. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.