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

A national figure who ran for president multiple times, Rezaei was the Revolutionary Guard’s longest-serving chief and led the paramilitary force through the war with Iraq in the 1980s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 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

Whenever possible, the teenagers also held the prestigious Hitler Youth Achievement Medal, earned for outstanding performance during their paramilitary training days.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

The government has firm control over police and paramilitaries, and the Indian army, unlike many of its peers in the developing world, has a record of remaining apolitical.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

The senator led the investigation into former president Uribe's ties with paramilitaries before it went to court, where Uribe became the first Colombian leader to be convicted of a crime last year.

From Barron's ● May 25, 2026

Colombia is also trying to emerge from 50 years of fighting spawned by a complex blend of leftist rebels, paramilitaries and drug lords.

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026

Iraq still faces many challenges, not least sectarianism, paramilitaries and Iranian meddling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025

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

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers