Sandinista

American  

[san-duh-nee-stuh, sahn-dee-nees-tah] / ˌsæn dəˈni stə, ˌsɑn diˈnis tɑ /

noun

• Sandinistas
  plural

1. a member of the Nicaraguan revolutionary movement that took control of Nicaragua in 1979.

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Sandinista British  

/ ˌsændɪˈniːstə /

noun

1. 1. one of a left-wing group of revolutionaries who overthrew President Somoza in 1979 and formed a socialist coalition government. The Sandinistas were opposed militarily by the US-backed Contras during the 1980s and were defeated in a general election in 1990

   2. ( as modifier )

      the Sandinista revolution

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Sandinistas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Sandinista

First recorded in 1925–30, in sense “supporter of Sandino”; from Latin American Spanish; see Sandino, -ist

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sandinista Sandinistas

Giaconda Belli, a writer and former guerrilla who left the Sandinista party in 1990 and now lives in exile, said she knows firsthand that removing an authoritarian leader is possible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Q: Did you ever imagine this would happen back when you were part of the Sandinista movement?

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

From documenting the lives of women performing striptease at rural American fairs to chronicling the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, her work provides an intimate portrait of resilience and humanity.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2025

For retired military member Roberto Samcam, who served as major in the Sandinista Popular Army and became an engineer at UCA in the 1970s, the university is woven into the fabric of Nicaraguan society.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2023

Over the past decade, the university has faced increasing scrutiny from Ortega’s party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 25, 2023

Oliver North survived the Sandinistas, Congress and cable news.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 3, 2026

The Sandinistas received support from the Soviet Union and Cuba.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

The church initially supported the Sandinistas after Somoza’s ouster, but that relationship frayed over time due to ideological differences.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2022

Ortega joins the Sandinistas two years later as a teenager.

From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2021

Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated.

From The 2002 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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