as in military
of or relating to a group that is not an official army but that operates and is organized like an army
Government forces have been attacked by heavily armed paramilitary groups in several villages. a paramilitary police force
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in guerilla
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of paramilitary
Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Furthermore, the militarisation of Republika Srpska police forces—including training with Russian operatives—raises concerns about unlawful paramilitary formations.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
In a series of statements, Carvajal claims that Maduro empowered Tren de Aragua to act as a paramilitary arm of the state—an unofficial enforcement squad tasked with silencing dissent, intimidating opposition figures and generating illicit revenue.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 25 June 2025
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces blamed their opponents, the Sudanese army, for the strike; the army has yet to comment, the BBC reported.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Noun
The Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) were a paramilitary aviation organization of female pilots who flew during World War II.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Furthermore, the militarisation of Republika Srpska police forces—including training with Russian operatives—raises concerns about unlawful paramilitary formations.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
In a series of statements, Carvajal claims that Maduro empowered Tren de Aragua to act as a paramilitary arm of the state—an unofficial enforcement squad tasked with silencing dissent, intimidating opposition figures and generating illicit revenue.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 25 June 2025
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces blamed their opponents, the Sudanese army, for the strike; the army has yet to comment, the BBC reported.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
-
Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organised by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv region on July 12, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
-
Advertisement Chipping away — Huang was arguing against policies that have seen the U.S. heavily restrict the export of graphics processing units, or GPUs, to China, in a bid to hamstring Beijing’s military capabilities and AI progress.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
The deployment of the Prince of Wales comes amid an intensifying naval rivalry between the United States—which operates the world's largest fleet of aircraft carriers—and China—which possesses the world's largest naval force by hull count—in the Pacific.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 July 2025
-
George moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1946, hopping trains to get here, to work at the naval shipyards in Bremerton, Washington.—
Suzette Hackney,
USA Today,
19 July 2025
Noun
-
In response, Ukraine devised a futuristic take on hit-and-run guerrilla operations.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
-
This week, Petro also halted the extradition of a former leader of a dissident guerrilla faction that had already been approved by Colombia's Supreme Court to face U.S. drug trafficking charges.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
5 July 2025
Adjective
-
Settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023, according to rights groups.—
Ali Sawafta,
USA Today,
13 July 2025
-
Buhari vowed to do more to fight militant groups and fix the economy as the demonstrations turned deadly and continued to simmer for the remainder of his presidency.—
Mitchell McCluskey,
CNN Money,
13 July 2025
Noun
-
The victim was a 20-year-old American soldier stationed in West Germany, Edward Pimental, for whom the group set a murderous honeytrap.—
Katja Hoyer,
semafor.com,
19 July 2025
-
The disarmament ceremony signaled an end to the armed conflict between the PKK and Turkey, one that has killed around 40,000 militants, soldiers, and civilians since 1984.—
Ragip Soylu,
Time,
18 July 2025
Noun
-
The existence of the irregulars raises an important question: How small can a galaxy get?—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
8 May 2025
-
The moons, observed from 2019 to 2021 at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, were placed into subgroups within two categories of Saturnian irregulars; the Inuit group contains the Kiviuq and Siarnaq subgroups, and the Norse group contains the Phoebe, Mundilfari, and Kari subgroups.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
In that story, Kara is approached by galactic warrior Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), who asks for help hunting down those who killed her father and destroyed her world.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
11 July 2025
-
In a futuristic and extremely crime-ridden Detroit, cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is killed in the line of duty and brought back as a cyborg warrior by a shady corporation.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share