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 guerrilla
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paramilitary
Michael J Kavanagh, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
The footage emerged a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard 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, Twin Cities, 23 Apr. 2026
Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Golshan Fathi, a woman living in Tehran, said the Basij paramilitary, which played a key role in the bloody crushing of mass protests last month, was showing a heavy presence in the streets of the capital.
—Arkansas Online, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Adjective
The Democratic Republic of Congo will create a paramilitary unit to police its mines with funding from the US and United Arab Emirates, the country’s General Inspectorate of Mines said.
—Michael J Kavanagh, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
The footage emerged a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard 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, Twin Cities, 23 Apr. 2026
Noun
And on the ground in Iran, there isn’t a single group or person or movement to whom these IRGC or other police or paramilitary could surrender.
—Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026
Golshan Fathi, a woman living in Tehran, said the Basij paramilitary, which played a key role in the bloody crushing of mass protests last month, was showing a heavy presence in the streets of the capital.
—Arkansas Online, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
-
By the eighteenth century, developments in military technology and state organization had made wars punishingly expensive.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Austria, a European Union member with a policy of military neutrality, was initially hesitant to take such action but has recently expelled more Russian diplomats.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
Noun
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Authorities said Topo had ties to a dissident faction of Colombia's FARC guerillas and was wanted by a New York court.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
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Advertisement Hezbollah maintained guerrilla-style warfare against Israel throughout the occupation of southern Lebanon up until 2000, when Israel withdrew from the country.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But there was little sign that Washington might be willing to abandon its naval blockade and accept the offer.—
Chantal Da Silva,
NBC news,
28 Apr. 2026
-
By October 2020, 190 of our naval ships, nearly 65% of the deployable fleet, reported at least one infection.—
Arthur Caplan,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In a 1916 study, Navy soldiers seemed to better learn Morse code when it was played overnight.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
-
Ryan shot back, quoting a soldier from the CBS report, that telling the truth is important.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Possibly this was the case at élite law schools in the nineteen-nineties, where even the most obdurate deans could not afford to ignore their militant students indefinitely.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Iraqi Kurds and Iraqi forces helped defeat the militant group in Iraq.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Some galaxies, known as irregulars, don't fit neatly into either mold.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The existence of the irregulars raises an important question: How small can a galaxy get?—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
8 May 2025
Noun
-
Sonja Shaw, 43, the school board president of Chino Valley Unified, has achieved a public profile as a MAGA culture warrior.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
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From exile in Amsterdam, filmmaker Dawood Hilmandi reflects on his family nickname, Paikar, the Persian word for warrior.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
1 May 2026
Noun
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Because the incident spanned two jurisdictions, Pennsylvania State Police troopers from the Butler barracks have been called to take over the investigation.—
Mike Darnay,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The trooper’s unmarked cruiser crossed a double yellow line in Woburn and struck Schettino’s vehicle.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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