paramilitary
adjective
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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
Marah Eakin, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024
Uribe has repeatedly denied the allegations against him and any ties to paramilitary groups.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
But Abiy has not only reversed his predecessors’ circumspect Sudan policy but also sided with Sudan’s paramilitary insurgency, the Rapid Support Forces, providing them with bases in their fight against the Sudanese Armed Forces.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
Simmering tensions in Haiti boiled over in late February when a coalition of armed groups, which included paramilitary and former police officers, launched an attack against Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government.
—Char Adams, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
The group’s lighting-like logo was designed by German graphic designer Walter Heck, who later joined the SS having previously been a commander in the Nazi’s paramilitary wing, the Sturmabteilung (SA).
—Oscar Holland, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group (RSF) -- once allies who jointly orchestrated a military coup in 2021 -- are now engaged in a vicious and ongoing power struggle.
—Emma Ogao, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024
The country’s police forces range from public security departments and neighborhood patrols to more heavy-handed state security and paramilitary forces as well as a highly secretive civilian spy agency.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
She was untied, dressed in a paramilitary uniform and transferred to another car filled with uniformed militants.
—Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paramilitary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramilitary. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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