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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Dissimilar Words
as in guerrilla
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paramilitary
Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
Russia’s defense ministry said its paramilitary forces helped thwart a coup.
—Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 29 Apr. 2026
Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Golshan Fathi, a woman living in Tehran, said the Basij paramilitary, which played a key role in the bloody crushing of mass protests last month, was showing a heavy presence in the streets of the capital.
—Arkansas Online, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Adjective
Hezbollah, the Lebanese paramilitary force, has attacked Israeli troops and targeted northern Israel with rockets and drones.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
Russia’s defense ministry said its paramilitary forces helped thwart a coup.
—Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
And on the ground in Iran, there isn’t a single group or person or movement to whom these IRGC or other police or paramilitary could surrender.
—Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Golshan Fathi, a woman living in Tehran, said the Basij paramilitary, which played a key role in the bloody crushing of mass protests last month, was showing a heavy presence in the streets of the capital.
—Arkansas Online, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
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Oil prices and global stocks seesawed Monday as fighting in Iran kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, sending Brent crude above $112 a barrel before retreating on signs that a wider military strike might pause.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
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The war in Iran is deeply unpopular The CBS poll found that 66% of respondents disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran, and 61% disapprove of all military action against it.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
18 May 2026
Noun
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What this means is that Ukraine has now advanced from a more guerrilla-style use of drones to a more state-level strategic air warfare capability.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
17 May 2026
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These guerrilla pop-ups launched the heartland quartet – singer Tyson Ritter, lead guitarist Nick Wheeler, rhythm guitarist Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor – into a world of TikToks and Instagram posts, simultaneously cultivating a fan base decades younger than the now-middle-aged rockers.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
Adjective
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Attack drones and autonomous boats have repeatedly challenged conventional naval operations in regions including the Black Sea and Red Sea.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
19 May 2026
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Malaysia inked a deal for the NSM anti-ship missile system in 2018 for Kongsberg to arm Malaysia’s new class of littoral combat ships under a broader naval modernization program.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 May 2026
Noun
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The clinic was close to the partition, where Israeli soldiers often fired their weapons.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
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During the hike, one of the soldiers fell into the ocean.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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Analysts who followed Syria's civil war and militant groups in the region say ISIS was at one point a serious political rival to the more nationalist TIP.—
Emily Feng,
NPR,
17 May 2026
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Al-Mainuki was born in 1982 in Mainok, or Mainuki, a village in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno, the heart of an insurgency crisis following the formation of the Boko Haram militant group around 2009.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 May 2026
Noun
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Some galaxies, known as irregulars, don't fit neatly into either mold.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
29 Sep. 2025
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The existence of the irregulars raises an important question: How small can a galaxy get?—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
8 May 2025
Noun
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At the end of the day, these are just salty fans and keyboard warriors, so their opinions probably mean next to nothing in the eyes of Edwards.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
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But right up until the final moments of Starz’s long-running fantasy historical romantic drama, devoted viewers feared that their beloved 20th-century English combat nurse and 18th-century Scottish highland warrior were not going to get their happy ending after all.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Before joining the Sandy Springs police, Citta worked as a Utah state trooper.—
Jamal Goss,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
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But in too many cases, that message isn’t heeded, which recently resulted in the death of a state trooper who sacrificed his life to stop a wrong-way driver from causing further havoc.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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