paramilitary

adjective

para·​mil·​i·​tary ˌper-ə-ˈmi-lə-ˌter-ē 

ˌpa-rə-

: of, relating to, being, or characteristic of a force formed on a military pattern especially as a potential auxiliary military force

a paramilitary border patrol

paramilitary training

paramilitary noun

Did you know?

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

Government forces have been attacked by heavily armed paramilitary groups in several villages.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hundreds of masked anti-immigration demonstrators in black paramilitary gear blocked roads into the Port of Dover, halting traffic, stranding travelers and freight, and briefly shutting access to Britain’s busiest ferry hub. — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Midwife Mae Bastet, serving a sentence for infanticide, has spent seven years away from her children in Buzzard, the private prison run by paramilitary corporation Obsityan. — Literary Hub, 1 Sep. 2026

Rezaei, 71, led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard during its formative years, through the entire 1980-1988 war with Iraq and until 1997. — Lee Keath, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026

Sudan plunged into all-out war in April 2023 as fighting erupted between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for paramilitary

• beneficiary
• bronchopulmonary
• evolutionary
• expeditionary
• extramedullary
• extraordinary
• extrapulmonary
• genitourinary
• geostationary
• hepatobiliary
• illocutionary
• insurrectionary