paramilitary 1 of 2

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

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paramilitary

2 of 2

noun

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
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
  • In 2019, the Legislature granted districts bonuses for the number of graduates each year who leave high school achieving college, career or military readiness.
    Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
  • Just a few weeks after the film's Oscar win, Palestinian co-director Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Israeli settlers and detained by military forces.
    Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 29 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
  • Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group's soldiers launched a surprise attack on the Jewish state, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
    Lily Kepner, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
  • Trump has been uniquely willing to break with Israel on many issues—for instance, by making deals with the Houthi militant group in Yemen and opening a diplomatic dialogue with Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Shara, despite his past alignment with al-Qaeda.
    ZAHA HASSAN, Foreign Affairs, 29 July 2025
Noun
  • What may have been a Roman soldier's monthly paycheck has emerged from under the ground, officials announced this month.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2025
  • An action-adventure flick directed by J.C. Chandor for Netflix, Triple Frontier follows a group of former special-ops soldiers who — feeling financially undervalued for their years spent in military service — decide to get what's rightfully theirs by robbing a drug lord.
    EW.com, EW.com, 31 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
  • By the time Dragon Ball Super rolls around, Goku is fighting cosmic gods in his quest to save the world and become the strongest warrior in existence.
    Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 29 July 2025
  • There was a chink in the indestructible warrior’s armour.
    Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 28 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.

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