paramilitary

American  

[par-uh-mil-i-ter-ee] / ˌpær əˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to an organization operating as, in place of, or as a supplement to a regular military force.

   a paramilitary police unit.

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noun

• paramilitaries
  plural

1. Also paramilitarist a person employed in such a force.

paramilitary British  

/ ˌpærəˈmɪlɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to a group of personnel with military structure functioning either as a civil force or in support of military forces

2. denoting or relating to a force with military structure conducting armed operations against a ruling or occupying power

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noun

1. 1. a paramilitary force

   2. a member of such a force

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paramilitaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of paramilitary

First recorded in 1930–35; para- ¹ + military

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Explanation

A group that's described as being paramilitary resembles an organized army. During the American Revolutionary War, the minutemen were a paramilitary group that fought in the earliest battles. When civilians organize themselves (or are organized) into a group that appears to be military, or that assists actual military troops, that's a paramilitary organization. You can also call it, simply, a paramilitary. The early twentieth century word combines the prefix para-, "near" or "resembling," and military, from its Latin root militaris, "of soldiers or war."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paramilitary paramilitaries

The civil war in Sudan began in April 2023 following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

The Saudis countered with an air campaign and ground force composed of Yemeni pro-government paramilitary factions, Saudi and Emirati troops and mercenaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

As HUR chief, Ivashchenko now also oversees the agency’s Timur Special Forces, an elite paramilitary organization with thousands of experienced soldiers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Like its paramilitary predecessor, the Wagner group, the Africa Corps is officially in the Sahel region to help tackle that violence.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

They looked more like an army of Robocops—black paramilitary outfits, helmets, automatic rifles.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

But the director general of the hospital, surgeon Izzeldin Ahmed Dawaud Asow, encountered a group of the paramilitaries outside his office.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

It also had “what was in effect a formidable army of 40,000 paramilitaries, and it had a foreign policy. It was independent enough to launch a war.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Chad's decision to leave the ICC after 20 years comes amid allegations by national and international organisations of Ndjamena's suspected involvement in the war in neighbouring Sudan between the army and paramilitaries.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

On Thursday, a senior police officer said there was no evidence loyalist paramilitaries were co-ordinating the unrest.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

Her husband was an Arab, and there were Israeli paramilitaries on the ground in the city.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

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