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.

---

noun

plural

paramilitaries

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

---

noun

1. 1. a paramilitary force

   2. a member of such a force

Etymology

Origin of paramilitary

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

Example Sentences

Naval units of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard were deployed this past week to the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sudan's civil war erupted in April 2023 out of a power struggle between the regular army and the RSF over how and whether the paramilitaries would integrate into the security forces.

From BBC

Naval units of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard were deployed this week to the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal

After losing his right leg on the battlefield in Ukraine, Dmitry, a former fighter with Russia's Wagner paramilitary group, is walking again thanks to a new prosthetic limb.

From Barron's

Both loyalist and republican paramilitaries are behind the practise according to Long, and she wanted to reassure those who have been targeted that they should report it to authorities.

From BBC