paramilitary

adjective

para·​mil·​i·​tary ˌper-ə-ˈmi-lə-ˌter-ē How to pronounce paramilitary (audio)
ˌpa-rə-
: of, relating to, being, or characteristic of a force formed on a military pattern especially as a potential auxiliary military force
a paramilitary border patrol
paramilitary training
paramilitary noun

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This term paramilitary can take in a wide range of organizations, but is usually applied to forces formed by a government. Groups opposing a government, even when organized along military lines, are more often referred to as guerrillas or insurgents. In countries with weak central governments (such as, in recent times, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, or Congo), warlords may form their own paramilitary forces and take over all local police and military functions. Paramilitary often has a sinister sound today, since it's also applied to groups of off-duty military or police personnel who carry out illegal violence, often at night, with the quiet support of a government.

Examples of paramilitary in a Sentence

Government forces have been attacked by heavily armed paramilitary groups in several villages.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
An obscure Russian paramilitary group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Moscow insisted that the order had come from Ukraine’s intelligence services. James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025 Sudan has been in a state of civil war since 2023 when tensions between the military and a notorious paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open warfare. Samy Magdy The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2025 Israel helped support paramilitary settlements in Thai border areas in the 1980s, a project that eventually led to an intricate system of labor migration, initially through private brokers and eventually through a bilateral agreement that governs Thai laborers and their Israeli employers today. Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025 The Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting Sudan’s military in the country’s calamitous civil war, signed a political charter with its allies late Saturday that aimed to establish a parallel Sudanese government in areas under their control. Declan Walsh, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for paramilitary

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of paramilitary was in 1935

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Cite this Entry

“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramilitary. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

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