as in military
of or relating to a group that is not an official army but that operates and is organized like an army
Government forces have been attacked by heavily armed paramilitary groups in several villages. a paramilitary police force
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in guerilla
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Recent Examples of paramilitary
Justin Kroll, Deadline, 21 Mar. 2025
They had been targeted by authorities and colectivos — Venezuelan armed paramilitary groups — in their hometown, his girlfriend said, for exposing government shortcomings and for their efforts to help their local community.
—Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2025
Working through proxies like the Africa Corps (the new name of the infamous Wagner paramilitary group), Russia has played a critical role in bolstering assorted military juntas and authoritarian regimes.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
The 11 people killed in the initial attack included the train driver and eight paramilitary troopers, security officials said.
—Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Adjective
The elevated espionage thriller takes viewers on Ben Edwards’ (Kitsch) journey from Navy SEAL to CIA paramilitary operator, exploring the darker side of warfare and the human cost that comes with it.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 21 Mar. 2025
They had been targeted by authorities and colectivos — Venezuelan armed paramilitary groups — in their hometown, his girlfriend said, for exposing government shortcomings and for their efforts to help their local community.
—Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2025
Working through proxies like the Africa Corps (the new name of the infamous Wagner paramilitary group), Russia has played a critical role in bolstering assorted military juntas and authoritarian regimes.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
The 11 people killed in the initial attack included the train driver and eight paramilitary troopers, security officials said.
—Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
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When William Playfair introduced pie charts in 1801, the whole was the nation and the parts showcased population, production, or military might.—
Mara Mills,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2025
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Regardless of the veracity of the cable-cutter reports, Chinese technological advances that can be used for military purposes pose inherent risks.—
Jill Goldenziel,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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What to know After U.S. negotiators met teams from Russia and Ukraine separately, Washington announced Tuesday there was an agreement for a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea and that all parties would continue working toward a lasting peace.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
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An accompanying view that naval and army warfare is somewhat separate has continued.—
Colin Flint,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
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And there is a long history of Polish women fighting for their country on the front lines, including as guerrilla fighters during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against the Germans.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC News,
7 Mar. 2025
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Set in 1987, Predator starts with Schwarzenegger's Dutch taking out guerrillas in the Central American jungle with his beefy battalion of soldiers — played by Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham, and future director of The Predator, Shane Black.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Israel launched its military assault on Gaza after the militant group Hamas killed at least 1,200 people in Israel and abducted more than 250 others on October 7, 2023.—
Don Riddell,
CNN,
19 Mar. 2025
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Why did the ceasefire break down? Both Israel and the Trump administration have blamed Hamas for the resumption of hostilities, citing the militant group's refusal to meet Israel's demand to release more hostages in return for the resumption of talks.—
Chantal Da Silva,
NBC News,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Facilitating mankind’s victory has been an invention that allows flesh-and-blood soldiers to control mechanized drone bodies with half their minds while the other halves enjoy, say, margaritas on a digital beach.—
Graham Hillard,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Mar. 2025
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The palace appeared to be in ruins, with soldiers stepping on broken tiles.—
Samy Magdy and Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The moons, observed from 2019 to 2021 at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, were placed into subgroups within two categories of Saturnian irregulars; the Inuit group contains the Kiviuq and Siarnaq subgroups, and the Norse group contains the Phoebe, Mundilfari, and Kari subgroups.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
17 Mar. 2025
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In a word, even before yesterday, Donbas was well on its way to becoming Ukraine’s Bosnia -- with Putin playing the part of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, Russia playing the part of Serbia, and Putin’s Donbas supporters playing the part of Bosnian Serb irregulars.—
Alexander J. Motyl,
Foreign Affairs,
17 July 2014
Noun
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In early 2012 several industry sources told Deadline that Disney was targeting a summer production start date and was in the process of finding an all-star cast of international martial arts sensations to play the team of warriors tasked with protecting the leading lady.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
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War movies turn a lot of us into armchair warriors.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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