Nicaragua

[nik-uh-rah-gwuh]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a republic in Central America. 57,143 sq. mi. (148,000 sq. km). Managua.
Spanish Lago de Nicaragua.��Lake. a lake in SW Nicaragua. 92 miles (148 km) long; 34 miles (55 km) wide; 3,060 sq. mi. (7,925 sq. km).

Nicaragua

/ nikaˈraɣwa, ˌnɪkəˈræɡjʊə, -ɡwə /

noun

a republic in Central America, on the Caribbean and the Pacific: colonized by the Spanish from the 1520s; gained independence in 1821 and was annexed by Mexico, becoming a republic in 1838. Official language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: córdoba. Capital: Managua. Pop: 5 788 531 (2013 est). Area: 131 812 sq km (50 893 sq miles)
a lake in SW Nicaragua, separated from the Pacific by an isthmus 19 km (12 miles) wide: the largest lake in Central America. Area: 8264 sq km (3191 sq miles)

Nicaragua

Republic in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the northwest and north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Managua.

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After fifty years of guerrilla warfare, the Marxist Sandinistas launched a civil war and assumed power in 1979.

General Anastasio Somoza established a military dictatorship in 1933. He was assassinated in 1956, but his sons continued the Somoza regime until 1979.

During the 1980s, the United States backed anti-Sandinista guerrillas called Contras (see Iran-Contra Affair). In 1990, the Sandinistas were defeated in free elections. In 1995, and again in 2001, opponents of the Sandinistas won elections to the nation's presidency.

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Other Word Forms

Nicaraguan noun

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The daughters said their mother was born in Nicaragua and fled the country’s civil war in 1986 with her two brothers and parents.

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The country has the lowest levels of economic growth and foreign investment in of all of Central America, worse even than nearby Nicaragua, a dictatorship that has been pummeled by U.S. sanctions.

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“Nicaragua has basically eviscerated the rule of law and separation of powers and I think changes in legislation are going to be very unlikely,” Yamin said.

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The administration also revoked another form of parole, for more than 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who flew to the U.S. at their own expense.

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At least 6,300 immigrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba who were lawfully assigned Social Security numbers were moved to the agency’s “master death list” last week at the request of immigration authorities.

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NICAM Nicaraguan

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