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
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in guerrilla
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of paramilitary
Robert Muggah, The Conversation, 4 Jan. 2026
Politically, Maduro consolidated power through loyalist networks within the military, intelligence services, criminal enterprises and civilian paramilitary groups known as colectivos.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
NPR, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Adjective
Armed colectivos – paramilitary groups with a stake in the old order – would resist fiercely.
—Robert Muggah, The Conversation, 4 Jan. 2026
Politically, Maduro consolidated power through loyalist networks within the military, intelligence services, criminal enterprises and civilian paramilitary groups known as colectivos.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
Noun
With El Fasher now apparently in the hands of the RSF, the whole of Darfur is under the paramilitary's control.
—NPR, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
-
About 9,614 were in military stockpiles for potential use, including 3,912 that are currently deployed.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
There will be fire trucks, youth groups, classic cars, military vehicles and local dignitaries.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Born in Caracas, Rodríguez is the daughter of Marxist guerrilla leader Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a co-founder of the Socialist League.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The daughter of a Marxist guerilla who rose to notoriety in the 1970s for capturing an American businessman, Rodríguez is adept at embracing contradiction in the name of political expediency.—
Ellie Austin,
Fortune,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Britain ultimately lost not only because of Washington’s extraordinary tenacity in the war’s several mainland theaters, but also because the king’s men had to stage long sieges, wage desperate naval battles, and take mounting casualties on too many other fronts spread too far apart.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Jacksonville can count on several military facilities, including naval stations and a submarine base, and Washington is, of course, home to the Pentagon.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Earlier this year, the Israeli military retrieved the body of another soldier who was killed in the 2014 war.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Just off the Gregory House, a trail leads to the Hammock Landing Battery, where Confederate soldiers guarded the river from attack, protecting their manufacturing hub in Columbus, Georgia.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Even leaving these facts aside, neither the doctrinaire socialism nor militant Islam have ever improved any place on earth, and New York City will not be the first.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
He was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group in Gaza allied with Hamas which also held Israeli hostages during the war.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The existence of the irregulars raises an important question: How small can a galaxy get?—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
8 May 2025
-
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
-
Build a Snowman Think beyond your traditional snowman and create your own fairytale version, such as a snow princess or snow warrior using dress-up items your kids already have at home.—
Mia Taylor,
Parents,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Newsom has also taken his happy-if-bitchy-warrior act into hostile territory by appearing on MAGA podcasts.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
State troopers were on scene while the power lines were cleared from the roadway.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The trooper went back to his colleagues for a few minutes, then came back to arrest him.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share