as in military
of or relating to a group that is not an official army but that operates and is organized like an army
Government forces have been attacked by heavily armed paramilitary groups in several villages. a paramilitary police force
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Dissimilar Words
as in guerilla
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paramilitary
Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2025
DiCaprio, 50, subverts his Hollywood leading man image by wearing a ratty red robe, unkempt hair and oversized sunglasses as former revolutionary and current stoner Bob Ferguson, who is forced back into action to save himself and his daughter (Chase Infiniti) from paramilitary enforcers.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Then under Nazi Germany, cave research fell under the purview of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the political paramilitary force governed by Heinrich Himmler.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 12 Sep. 2025
The Ku Klux Klan and other white terror groups acted as a paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party, intent on driving the Republican Party out of Southern politics.
—Time, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Noun
Rendon was reportedly a finance chief for a wealthy paramilitary faction and one of the founding leaders of the Gulf Clan before taking full control in 2007 for about two years before his arrest, according to InSight Crime.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2025
DiCaprio, 50, subverts his Hollywood leading man image by wearing a ratty red robe, unkempt hair and oversized sunglasses as former revolutionary and current stoner Bob Ferguson, who is forced back into action to save himself and his daughter (Chase Infiniti) from paramilitary enforcers.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Then under Nazi Germany, cave research fell under the purview of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the political paramilitary force governed by Heinrich Himmler.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 12 Sep. 2025
The Ku Klux Klan and other white terror groups acted as a paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party, intent on driving the Republican Party out of Southern politics.
—Time, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
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Leadership in batteries, robotics and automation brings economies of scale and deep R&D pipelines that can be redirected toward military use.—
Rebecca A. Fannin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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The pavilion’s interior was reminiscent of a military entertainment bar, with a dim red light, two screens placed on opposite walls, and a couple of microphones standing in the middle.—
Joanna Warsza,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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With Aegis destroyers, advanced submarines, and F-35 jets, Japan emphasizes naval and missile defense.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Oct. 2025
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They were escorted part-way by Italian and Spanish naval ships, and their interception has been met by protests in several European countries.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Cartel de los Soles remains active along Colombia’s border, maintaining ties with guerrilla groups such as the ELN and with Mexican cartels to traffic cocaine, gold and other contraband.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
2 Oct. 2025
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Cregger shot the scene, one of the funnier moments in the movie, guerrilla style.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As such, the political and militant body – which has governed the territory since June 2007 – will need to be in a desperate situation to accept the terms.—
Asher Kaufman,
The Conversation,
30 Sep. 2025
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Trump’s peace plan has backed Hamas into a corner, leaving the militant group to face an existential dilemma.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Previously, a court order was required to collect the samples from fallen soldiers.—
Amelie Botbol,
FOXNews.com,
5 Oct. 2025
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Jerusalem — On a hot Friday morning in September, dozens of Israelis turned up at Gaza’s border fence – not as soldiers, but as dissenters.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The existence of the irregulars raises an important question: How small can a galaxy get?—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
8 May 2025
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The moons, observed from 2019 to 2021 at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, were placed into subgroups within two categories of Saturnian irregulars; the Inuit group contains the Kiviuq and Siarnaq subgroups, and the Norse group contains the Phoebe, Mundilfari, and Kari subgroups.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Also today at my direction, every warrior across our joint force is required to do PT every duty day.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
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Hounsou is an immortal warrior from Africa, while Abela is MacLeod’s modern romantic interest.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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