paramilitary force
4
6.8
- noun
- /ˌpærəˈmɪlɪtəri fɔrs/
- Literature
:
fuerza paramilitar
- Similar arguments have been made by skeptics of the Sunni Awakening, the paramilitary forces that recoiled against Al-Qaeda and now collect Iraqi state salaries to keep the peace.
- military and paramilitary force
- paramilitary force and the army
Examples
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In doing this, we are not confronting the Basij, an auxiliary paramilitary force.
Academic text (2010) -
During the conflict, several regions relied on a paramilitary force to support the regular army in combat operations.
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The paramilitary force Operation Sweep was established in 1996 to fight increasing crime in Lagos.
Academic text (2009) -
The brutality of the expanding paramilitary forces remains a thorny problem.
Academic text (1999) -
Encounters with military and paramilitary forces are pervasive features of everyday life in the Kashmir Valley.
Academic text (2009) -
Even mothers of policemen and soldiers kidnapped by guerrillas joined the meetings with victims of paramilitary forces.
Academic text (2008) -
The enemy reacted with the 5,000-strong Task Force Lawin, consisting of army, police, and paramilitary forces.
Blog text (9) -
Hezbollah is a well-armed, well-disciplined paramilitary force capable of taking on Israel and mounting a serious challenge to its armed forces.
Academic text (2009) -
The U.S.-backed paramilitary force is a group of 100,000 Sunnis credited with taming violence in Iraq.
Blog text (10) -
As of 1996, Kenya's 24,200 soldiers were distributed as follows: army, 20,500; navy, 1,200; air force, 2,500; and its paramilitary forces numbered 5,000.
Academic text (2002)
Synonyms
553
5.8
An organized group of ordinary people who act as soldiers in emergencies
14
8.0
A group of armed civilians organized like soldiers outside the regular army
2
6.5
A group of civilians trained and armed like soldiers to support or replace the army
1
7.4
A group of civilians organized and trained like soldiers to support or replace the army
How Military
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'paramilitary' means 'military-like' and 'force' means 'a trained group', so together they denote a military-style group. This is a straightforward adjective + noun combination that follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun paramilitary force comes from the parts para meaning 'beside' or 'alongside' and military meaning 'army'. So, a paramilitary force is a group that is not the regular army but is organized 'like the army' to work beside or help it.