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
Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 2 Nov. 2025
The Sudanese Army withdrew from a key city in Darfur now under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, sparking fears of mass atrocities by the group, which has reportedly received backing from the UAE.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 29 Oct. 2025
NPR, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Adjective
Blood from bodies piled up in Sudan is visible from space, part of unprecedented slaughter at the hands of paramilitary fighters.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 2 Nov. 2025
The Sudanese Army withdrew from a key city in Darfur now under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, sparking fears of mass atrocities by the group, which has reportedly received backing from the UAE.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 29 Oct. 2025
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
-
The indictment specifically alleges Alcalá, was tasked with coordinating drug-trafficking activities with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group, considered by Washington to be a terrorist organization that has for decades funded itself via the drug trade.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Initially, business was local and most orders came in through word of mouth and guerilla marketing.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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
-
One was Xena, like the warrior-princess of the 1990s TV series.—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The movie tells the story of a dozen elite warriors from around the world who are kidnapped and forced to take part in fight-to-the-death survival games.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
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 14 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share