Paramilitary

//ˌpɛɹəˈmɪlɪˌtɛɹi// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion, but which do not represent the formal forces of a sovereign power.

    "From the start of its operations in Colombia, the company was on guard against the decadeslong civil strife in the country between left-wing guerrilla and right-wing paramilitary groups, witnesses have testified."

  2. 2
    a group of civilians organized in a military fashion (especially to operate in place of or to assist regular army troops) wordnet
  3. 3
    A member of a paramilitary group. colloquial
Adjective
  1. 1
    Relating to a paramilitary. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to a group of civilians organized to function like or to assist a military unit wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
paramilitantparamilitantparamilitary forceparamilitary organisationparamilitary organizationparamilitary unit

Example

More examples

"Sami organized his gang in a paramilitary structure with him in command."

Etymology

From para- + military.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.