paramilitary
adjective
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This term paramilitary can take in a wide range of organizations, but is usually applied to forces formed by a government. Groups opposing a government, even when organized along military lines, are more often referred to as guerrillas or insurgents. In countries with weak central governments (such as, in recent times, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, or Congo), warlords may form their own paramilitary forces and take over all local police and military functions. Paramilitary often has a sinister sound today, since it's also applied to groups of off-duty military or police personnel who carry out illegal violence, often at night, with the quiet support of a government.
Examples of paramilitary in a Sentence
Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025
The Sudanese Army has been locked in a deadly battle with the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group, since April of 2023.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, the Sudanese civil war between the paramilitary group RSF and the Sudanese military rages on, having killed more than 28,000 people and displacing millions more since April 2023.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, TIME, 10 Feb. 2025
This harkens back to the paramilitary Blackshirts in Italy and the Ku Klux Klan in this country.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramilitary. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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