de-escalation
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Explanation
When a potentially violent situation becomes less intense, reducing the likelihood of a conflict, that's de-escalation. Instead of another loud argument with your brother, you might aim for de-escalation. De-escalation is a technique that's used by a wide variety of people, from police officers to company managers to elementary school teachers to leaders of countries. Turning down the intensity of a disagreement, ideally getting people to discuss their issues instead of shoving each other (or starting a war) is what de-escalation is all about. The word comes from the prefix de-, "the opposite of," and escalate, or "raise," from a Latin root meaning "to climb."
Vocabulary lists containing de-escalation
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But the agency to which that money was transferred apparently didn’t get these ICE agents to wear body cameras, and it doesn’t seem to have a particularly effective de-escalation curriculum.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
In June, de-escalation helped soothe oil markets, but this month, the ceasefire collapsed and fighting resumed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Pakistan's top diplomat called for "de-escalation" and for all sides to "show restraint" during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Sunday, the foreign ministry said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
The European Union recently issued a warning and called for "an immediate de-escalation" in northern Ethiopia.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Markets are now “effectively pricing in a partial de-escalation scenario, where energy prices stabilize rather than fully unwind,” Tiffany Wilding, an economist at Pimco, said in an email to MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
The comments were seen as a de-escalations of tensions that have pushed oil prices to their highest level in three months on the possibility of U.S. strikes against Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
Lack of staffing and budget eliminates valuable patrols in known areas that prevent crime, and unfortunately eliminates time for community engagement that provides for insight and de-escalations.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2021
The scholars recommended continued prosecution of the war, though without escalation and possibly with experimental de-escalations to win broader support for it at home.
From Time Magazine Archive
"What are you prepared to do in response to our de-escalations?" asked Harriman.
From Time Magazine Archive
There are essentially two approaches open to Nixon that could lead to a measurable disengagement from Viet Nam: a negotiated solution, or a seesaw of unilateral de-escalations, with each side presumably matching the other's withdrawals.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
