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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in guerilla
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paramilitary
Keith Langston, People.com, 6 June 2025
The availability of paramilitary equipment, including night-vision goggles, drones, and firearms—which are legal to carry in Arizona without any training or license—means that almost anyone can equip themselves like soldiers.
—Jessica Pishko, New Yorker, 6 June 2025
This action comedy about a group of paramilitary teen spies chasing a super-criminal is an undersung cult classic.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 6 June 2025
She was raped first by paramilitary fighters and then by soldiers.
—Arkansas Online, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Adjective
Watch Prey on Hulu Predator The original Predator movie is set in the present day (which would be 1987) and follows a paramilitary rescue team who quickly discovers that rebel forces in the South American jungle aren’t their most dangerous enemy.
—Keith Langston, People.com, 6 June 2025
The availability of paramilitary equipment, including night-vision goggles, drones, and firearms—which are legal to carry in Arizona without any training or license—means that almost anyone can equip themselves like soldiers.
—Jessica Pishko, New Yorker, 6 June 2025
This action comedy about a group of paramilitary teen spies chasing a super-criminal is an undersung cult classic.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 6 June 2025
She was raped first by paramilitary fighters and then by soldiers.
—Arkansas Online, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
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And Trump, since returning to office, has launched numerous military strikes on Yemen's Houthis.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
23 June 2025
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Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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Shelton died in 2021 at age 100 as the then oldest living naval aviator.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 June 2025
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The Liaoning and the Shandong have been operating simultaneously in waters east of Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines—which form the First Island Chain under the U.S. containment strategy aimed at restricting China's naval activities.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
Noun
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While many former guerrillas like Ms. Suárez have thrived, nearly 500 have been killed, mostly because of their earlier links to the FARC.—
Mie Hoejris Dahl,
Christian Science Monitor,
10 June 2025
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Freddy, a 46-year-old who did not give his last name for fear of reprisals from a cartel, left the Colombian military at age 32 after more than a decade of intense combat fighting leftist guerrillas.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Iraq: Iran, which shares a nearly 1,000-mile border with Iraq, has ties to Iraqi militant groups including Kataib Hezbollah, the Badr Organization, and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
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Bondi also shared that over 1,000 Iranian nationals have entered the country illegally in recent years and said law enforcement agencies are actively investigating them for possible ties to foreign militant groups.—
Elaine Mallon,
The Washington Examiner,
24 June 2025
Noun
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His Telegram channel, followed by around half a million users, regularly features narrated footage of drones tracking and killing Russian soldiers.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
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The biggest revelation in both movies is that throughout the war Lucas had heroin shipped to the U.S. from Vietnam in coffins containing dead soldiers.—
Steve Bloom,
HollywoodReporter,
24 June 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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The movement's emphasis on the Old Testament is significant, Clarkson said, because in it, major figures are warriors.—
Odette Yousef,
NPR,
21 June 2025
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Two years later, Israeli and American cyber warriors introduced Stuxnet, a malicious computer worm that caused thousands of Natanz centrifuges to spin out of control, setting back Iran’s nuclear enrichment.—
Jennifer Griffin,
FOXNews.com,
21 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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