paramilitary
adjective
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
Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 17 Mar. 2026
The Basij have long operated as a national paramilitary force under the command of Iran's Islamic theocratic rulers, playing a major role in violently quashing anti-government protests, including the unprecedented wave of unrest in January.
—CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
The Basij forces are a volunteer paramilitary militia, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which Israel says was responsible for violently suppressing street protests against the Iranian government earlier this year.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 17 Mar. 2026
During the stretch of time in which the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group occupied Sudan—April 15, 2023 until early 2025—the Sudan National Museum’s contents were lost to theft amidst the civil war, NBC News reported last week.
—News Desk, Artforum, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramilitary. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
Copy Citation
