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

Officers also dismantled the protesters' stage and makeshift tents at Jantar Mantar, but demonstrators have refused to leave, maintaining a round-the-clock sit-in under heavy police and paramilitary deployment.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 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

Her death provoked widespread public grief and anger over the continued activity of paramilitary groups, which plagued the province during three decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Leaving nothing to chance this time, the Indian Air Force transported the new test papers to some regions, while police and paramilitary officers were deployed at the 5,440 exam centres across the country.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

Komsomol-sponsored activities and paramilitary training through the Osoaviakhim helped young people to prove their Communist Party loyalty.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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

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

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 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

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