escalate

American  

[es-kuh-layt] / ˈɛs kəˌleɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

• escalates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• escalated,
  past participle,  past
• escalating
  present participle

1. to increase in intensity, magnitude, etc..

   to escalate a war; a time when prices escalate.

   Synonyms:

   swell, mount, advance

   Antonyms:

   fall, decrease, lower

2. to raise, lower, rise, or descend on or as if on an escalator.

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escalate British  

/ ˈɛskəˌleɪt /

verb

1. to increase or be increased in extent, intensity, or magnitude

   to escalate a war

   prices escalated because of inflation

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Pronunciation

See percolate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• escalation
  noun
• reescalation
  noun
• reescalate
  verb
• escalatory
  adjective
• nonescalating
  adjective
• nonescalatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• escalating
  present
• escalated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• escalate
  simple
• escalates
  simple
• have escalated
  perfect
• has escalated
  perfect
• am escalating
  progressive
• are escalating
  progressive
• is escalating
  progressive
• have been escalating
  perfect progressive
• has been escalating
  perfect progressive

Past

• escalated
  simple
• had escalated
  perfect
• was escalating
  progressive
• were escalating
  progressive
• had been escalating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will escalate
  simple
• will have escalated
  perfect
• will be escalating
  progressive
• will have been escalating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of escalate

First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from escalator

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Explanation

If an argument between you and your brother progresses from mean looks to a fist fight, you could say that the tension between the two of you escalated. To escalate is intensify or increase quickly. When you see this word, picture an escalator that takes you up to the next floor quickly. But remember, there's something you don't like on that higher level because it's usually bad if something escalates. Prices escalate when something becomes scarce, be it a popular toy, a concert ticket, or food during a crisis. And if a war or conflict escalates, it becomes more intense and violent.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

escalate escalates escalated escalating

A Belfast High Court judge temporarily blocked it on Saturday, warning that the long-running dispute could escalate across Northern Ireland and urging the parties to "step back from the abyss".

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

In the event that the U.N.’s International Court of Justice—which has issued an advisory opinion concerning the Chagos Archipelago—takes further action, the situation could escalate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

I don’t want to escalate too quickly and create pressure, but I also don’t want to miss opportunities by hesitating too long.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

"I wish we consultants had been brave enough to follow our suspicions and escalate things to the police earlier," he told the BBC.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

That’s when the Space Race began to escalate.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Over the following fortnight, the unrest escalates dramatically.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Attempts at diplomacy have floundered as fighting escalates on several fronts across Africa's third-largest country.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

PlayOn Sports will pay $810,000 in the first year that also escalates 3% each year of the contract.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Friday’s preliminary injunction request, filed in the District of New Jersey, escalates legal proceedings initiated earlier this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“Doesn’t my opinion matter?” he asks one evening, before the conversation escalates to door slamming.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

At a Dallas therapy practice, it divided in-laws and escalated into firings and lawsuits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

A new study from USC finds that emergency room visits from patients born outside of the U.S. fell by more than 20% in the first four weeks after arrests escalated in June 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Concerns about the safety of advanced AI models have escalated in recent months.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

England and Wales are also in restricted zones, after cases escalated there over the summer.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Keeping Peace in The Family Octavia also managed to keep the peace between her brother and her husband as their arguments heated up and their disagreements escalated.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby

Port Lockroy faces escalating deterioration from age, climate change and environmental factors, said UKAHT.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The Saudis’ escalating fight with the Iran-backed Houthi militants poses new challenges to the country’s security and plans to transform its oil-dependent economy, according to the Wall Street Journal.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

The negotiations follow months of rising tensions between the 27-nation EU and the Asian powerhouse that risk escalating into a full-blown trade war.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Oil prices rose more than 2% Thursday amid escalating Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, another tanker strike in the Persian Gulf and growing U.S. offshore production shut-ins as Hurricane Isaias approaches the northern Gulf Coast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

People who don’t climb mountains—the great majority of humankind, that is to say—tend to assume that the sport is a reckless, Dionysian pursuit of ever escalating thrills.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

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Related Words

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