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
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
Israel would repeatedly foil Iranian attempts to supply Syria with air defenses or deploy air defenses to protect its paramilitary forces and allied militias, such as a Tor-M1 system Iran tried to set up in Homs province in 2018.
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
Iran’s troops are divided between the regular armed forces, generally commissioned with guarding Iran’s borders and carrying out more conventional military tasks, and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, including the elite Quds Force, the strategic missile command and the cyberforce.
—Christopher Bodeen, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramilitary. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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