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

Young people draped in Indian flags queued for food, painted placards and posed for photographs, while rows of police and paramilitary personnel sealed every road to parliament around them.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary arm of the regime, has mostly used one-way drones or other short-range projectiles launched from fastboats or from the coastline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

The Mali military, backed by Africa Corps, the Moscow-controlled paramilitary group, has intensified operations following the large-scale April 25-26 attacks.

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

Now, Revolutionary Guard troops and paramilitary Basij enforcers are everywhere in the streets, Iranians at the border said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

One cop in all-black paramilitary gear stood in the lookout turret on top, and he surveyed the street as if he were looking for snipers.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

Her emergency contact Alex Plitsas, a CNN national security analyst, told CBS that Kittleson had been warned by the US government about a specific threat to her from Iran-backed paramilitaries.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 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

The act's fatal flaw was a conditional immunity clause - later ruled unlawful - which could have been used by ex-soldiers, or former paramilitaries.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025

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

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers