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
Michael J Kavanagh, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
The paramilitary force is projected to have more than 20,000 personnel across all of Congo's 22 mining provinces by the end of 2028, with the aim of boosting investor confidence and strengthening state oversight of mineral production.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The Wide Awakes were seen in the South more as a paramilitary unit than as a civilian police force.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 27 Apr. 2026
The move unfolded a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards attacked three cargo ships in the strait, capturing two of them, in an assault that raised new concerns about the safety of shipping through the waterway.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramilitary. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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