Spanish words ending in -ista (from English -ist)
Professions and believers in English -ist become Spanish -ista: artist → artista, dentist → dentista, tourist → turista. This family has an unusual and very useful property: the word itself does not change for gender.
How the rule works
- One form for everyone — el artista and la artista. Only the article moves.
- Plural is -istas, with los / las doing the gendering.
- It pairs with -ismo: the belief is el turismo, the person is el turista.
- The final -a is not feminine here, which is why el dentista looks wrong and is right.
Start with these
- artist → artista
- racist → racista
- journalist → periodista
- terrorist → terrorista
- communist → comunista
- specialist → especialista
Every verified word in this family (96)
Each pair below was checked on both sides: the Spanish word exists in a spell-checker and a frequency list, and the meaning was cross-checked rather than assumed from the spelling. Tap 🔊 to hear it.
- activist→activista
- adventist→adventista
- agonist→agonista
- alpinist→alpinista
- altruist→altruista
- anabaptist→anabaptista
- anarchist→anarquistaLatin anarchia
- antagonist→antagonistaLatin antagonista
- artist→artistaLatin ars
- baptist→bautistaLatin baptista
- bassist→bajistaLatin bassus
- capitalist→capitalista
- centrist→centrista
- ceramist→ceramista
- columnist→columnista
- communist→comunista
- cyclist→ciclista
- dentist→dentistaLatin dēns
- determinist→determinista
- donatist→donatista
- economist→economistaLatin oeconomia
- egoist→egoísta
- equilibrist→equilibrista
- evangelist→evangelista
- exorcist→exorcista
- extremist→extremista
- fabulist→fabulista
- falangist→falangista
- fascist→fascistaLatin fascis
- fatalist→fatalista
- feminist→feminista
- finalist→finalista
- flautist→flautista
- florist→floristaLatin flōs
- formalist→formalista
- fundamentalist→fundamentalista
- guitarist→guitarrista
- hedonist→hedonista
- humorist→humorista
- idealist→idealista
- imperialist→imperialista
- individualist→individualista
- islamist→islamista
- journalist→periodistaLatin periodicus
- leninist→leninista
- linguist→lingüista
- maoist→maoísta
- materialist→materialista
- medalist→medallista
- medallist→medallista
- mercantilist→mercantilista
- militarist→militarista
- minimalist→minimalista
- modernist→modernista
- monopolist→monopolista
- moralist→moralista
- nationalist→nacionalista
- naturalist→naturalistaLatin nāscor
- naturist→naturista
- nihilist→nihilista
- novelist→novelistaLatin novus
- oboist→oboísta
- oculist→oculista
- onanist→onanista
- optimist→optimistaLatin optimus
- organist→organista
- orientalist→orientalista
- papist→papista
- paternalist→paternalista
- perfumist→perfumista
- pianist→pianista
- pluralist→pluralista
- populist→populista
- positivist→positivista
- pragmatist→pragmatista
- propagandist→propagandista
- protagonist→protagonista
- pugilist→pugilista
- purist→purista
- racist→racistaLatin radia, from radius
- realist→realista
- receptionist→recepcionista
- relativist→relativista
- revanchist→revanchista
- sensualist→sensualista
- sexist→sexista
- socialist→socialista
- specialist→especialistaLatin speciālis
- stylist→estilista
- supremacist→supremacista
- surrealist→surrealista
- taoist→taoísta
- terrorist→terroristaLatin terror
- tourist→turistaEnglish tourist
- urbanist→urbanista
- vocalist→vocalistaLatin vōx
FAQ
Is it el artista or la artista?
Both, depending on the person. -ista nouns are common-gender: the ending is fixed and the article tells you who you mean.
Do -ista words also work as adjectives?
Many do, and they stay invariable in gender: un partido socialista, una política socialista.
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72 verified words