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

Etymology

Origin of paramilitary

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

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

Euphemistically known as “mobile lounges,” these hulking, 40-ton machines from the 1960s and ’70s look and feel like paramilitary vehicles trundling through a desert dystopia.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

Around the time the protesters were meeting Nadda, police and paramilitary forces moved in to clear Jantar Mantar.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

The idea of carving out talks on the future administration of Hormuz was pressed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian paramilitary group that protects the regime and controls the strait, mediators said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Wednesday’s funeral procession was organized by the Iraqi government and a coalition of pro-Iranian paramilitary groups known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

A black paramilitary beret with black glasses and a little fledgling soul patch.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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

"At this stage we have no evidence to say that the violence is being coordinated by loyalist paramilitaries," he said.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

Cepeda, 63, is the son of a leftist senator killed by right‑wing paramilitaries.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

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

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers