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
Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Oct. 2025
Additional fighting between troops and militants apparently broke out in a second area in Pakistan’s Orakzai district to the north, where Islamabad said six Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed and two security officials were wounded.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Fighting between troops and militants in a second incident in Pakistan’s border district of Orakzai killed six Pakistani paramilitary soldiers and wounded six, two security officials told Reuters.
—Reuters, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2025
The original story is based on the reality of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland taking very famous singers’ music and using it in this way.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 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 25 Oct. 2025.
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