tontería

Spanish

Etymology

From tonto (“stupid”) +‎ -ería.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tonteˈɾia/ [t̪õn̪.t̪eˈɾi.a]
• Rhymes: -ia
• Syllabification: ton‧te‧rí‧a

Noun

tontería f (plural tonterías)

1. something that is dumb

   Synonyms: bobada, tontera, estupidez, (Spain) gilipollez, (Argentina, Uruguay) boludez, (Argentina, Uruguay) boludez, (Chile) wea, (Mexico) tarugada, (El Salvador) virgada

2. something of little consequence
3. nonsense, gibberish, baloney, malarkey (meaningless words)

Further reading

• “tontería”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10