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
Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 11 Nov. 2024
Former members of the Wagner paramilitary company, for instance, might wish to use such warheads against Ukraine, or Russians fighting on Ukraine’s behalf might wish to attack a Russian city.
—William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
Sudan’s conflict is mainly being waged between the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—ostensibly over the transition to free elections, though tensions have simmered for years.
—Charlie Campbell / Dubai, TIME, 29 Nov. 2024
Amid growing security concerns, the government has called in army troops to reinforce the police and paramilitary presence amid growing security concerns, particularly in the Red Zone.
—Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 26 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for paramilitary 
Adjective
Murphy eventually became a Green Beret while Parke was a paramilitary contractor.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 11 Nov. 2024
Former members of the Wagner paramilitary company, for instance, might wish to use such warheads against Ukraine, or Russians fighting on Ukraine’s behalf might wish to attack a Russian city.
—William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
Sudan’s conflict is mainly being waged between the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—ostensibly over the transition to free elections, though tensions have simmered for years.
—Charlie Campbell / Dubai, TIME, 29 Nov. 2024
Amid growing security concerns, the government has called in army troops to reinforce the police and paramilitary presence amid growing security concerns, particularly in the Red Zone.
—Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 26 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for paramilitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramilitary
Adjective
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Unmanned objects in the sky have been spotted near U.S. military bases several times in the past year.Alyce McFadden, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2024
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From the day of death until the interment of an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a secretary of an executive or military department, a former vice president or the governor of a state.Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The Israeli Navy also attacked its Syrian counterpart in two coastal naval bases, where 15 Syrian vessels were docked.Paul Iddon, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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Experts say its resident could have been the famed natural philosopher and naval leader Pliny the Elder, who commanded the fleet of 70 ships at the nearby Roman port at Misenum.Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil came back from exile, and were proposing another kind of fight, which was different from the take-guns-and-fight guerrilla thing of very young people.Margy Rochlin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
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And then its existence becomes guerrilla marketing.Lilian Raji, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In September 2015, Russia intervened on the side of Assad, and with support from Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah loyalists, succeeded in recapturing most non-Kurdish areas of Syria, with rebels pinned into a small enclave around Idlib in the northwest of the country.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2024
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But Western hopes of a more moderate Syria sank when the new leader promptly maintained his country’s traditional ties with militant groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.Simone McCarthy, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The terror group killed thousands, predominantly targeting men and elderly women, while abducting boys to forcibly conscript them as child soldiers.Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
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In 2015, members of the Islamic State (IS) destroyed parts of the ancient city, and shortly afterwards the area saw fighting between Kurdish and IS soldiers.Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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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
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But when strong-arm tactics by security irregulars failed to suppress the massive demonstrations in Tahrir Square, the senior officer corps, who regarded themselves foremost as guardians of the first Egyptian revolution, sent Mubarak into retirement.Robert H. Pelletreau, Foreign Affairs, 24 Feb. 2011
Noun
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Fight to the end over Hegseth, the thinking goes, and other MAGA warriors will slip through the Senate picket line.Matthew Continetti, National Review, 7 Dec. 2024
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The trolls and keyboard warriors should take a good, hard look in the mirror, too, says relationship therapist Philip Lewis.Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 5 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near paramilitary
Cite this Entry
“Paramilitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramilitary. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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