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

The review produced evidence that Credit Suisse’s banking relationships with the Nazi’s paramilitary organization SS were more extensive than previously known, with the SS’s economic arm maintaining an account at the bank, Grassley said, citing the records. —Reuters, NBC news, 3 Feb. 2026

The position of the incident appeared to be in Iranian territorial waters, where officials had warned of a naval drill by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in recent days. —Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026

Soon roving bands of local armed paramilitary men began to grab Jews off the street where they were taken to detention and then disappeared. —Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026

The European Union agreed Thursday to list Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization over Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests, the bloc's top diplomat said, in a largely symbolic move that adds to international pressure on the Islamic Republic. —Sam McNeil and Jon Gambrell The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 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