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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paramilitary
Robin Wright, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard along a street in Srinagar on May 11, 2025.
—Sam Dalrymple, Time, 14 July 2025
The civil war between the country’s army and a paramilitary group has displaced 11 million people internally and 4 million more are refugees in other countries.
—Chris Boccia, ABC News, 13 July 2025
Compounding this shift away from Hezbollah’s influence, the U.S. recently laid down terms for a deal that would see the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in return for the total disarmament of the paramilitary group – a proposal seemingly backed by the Lebanese government.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Noun
On Monday, Israel struck two of the biggest symbols of Iranian repression: the entryway of the infamous Evin Prison, where thousands of dissidents have been held, and the headquarters of the Basij, the paramilitary wing of the Revolutionary Guard, which is used to crack down on opposition.
—Robin Wright, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard along a street in Srinagar on May 11, 2025.
—Sam Dalrymple, Time, 14 July 2025
The civil war between the country’s army and a paramilitary group has displaced 11 million people internally and 4 million more are refugees in other countries.
—Chris Boccia, ABC News, 13 July 2025
Compounding this shift away from Hezbollah’s influence, the U.S. recently laid down terms for a deal that would see the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in return for the total disarmament of the paramilitary group – a proposal seemingly backed by the Lebanese government.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
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In 2019, the Legislature granted districts bonuses for the number of graduates each year who leave high school achieving college, career or military readiness.—
Keri Heath,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Just a few weeks after the film's Oscar win, Palestinian co-director Hamdan Ballal was attacked by Israeli settlers and detained by military forces.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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The Japanese military frequently tracks and reports on China's naval activities near Okinawa Prefecture, as Chinese vessels transit the Miyako Strait—which lies between Miyako Island and Okinawa Island—a major gateway for deployments beyond the First Island Chain.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
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For example, since the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainians have destroyed two-thirds of Russia’s pre-invasion tank force, and decimated nearly half of Russia’s naval fleet on the Black Sea.—
Mark Temnycky,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In response, Ukraine devised a futuristic take on hit-and-run guerrilla operations.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
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This week, Petro also halted the extradition of a former leader of a dissident guerrilla faction that had already been approved by Colombia's Supreme Court to face U.S. drug trafficking charges.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group's soldiers launched a surprise attack on the Jewish state, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Trump has been uniquely willing to break with Israel on many issues—for instance, by making deals with the Houthi militant group in Yemen and opening a diplomatic dialogue with Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Shara, despite his past alignment with al-Qaeda.—
ZAHA HASSAN,
Foreign Affairs,
29 July 2025
Noun
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An action-adventure flick directed by J.C. Chandor for Netflix, Triple Frontier follows a group of former special-ops soldiers who — feeling financially undervalued for their years spent in military service — decide to get what's rightfully theirs by robbing a drug lord.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
31 July 2025
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What may have been a Roman soldier's monthly paycheck has emerged from under the ground, officials announced this month.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
31 July 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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By the time Dragon Ball Super rolls around, Goku is fighting cosmic gods in his quest to save the world and become the strongest warrior in existence.—
Chris Snellgrove,
EW.com,
29 July 2025
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The party’s antitrust warriors may be marginalized, but there’s one space where personnel really has become policy: AI and crypto regulation.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
28 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
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