de-escalate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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de-escalates,
present (3rd person singular)
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de-escalated,
past participle, past
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de-escalating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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de-escalatesimple
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de-escalatessimple
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have de-escalatedperfect
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has de-escalatedperfect
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am de-escalatingprogressive
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are de-escalatingprogressive
-
is de-escalatingprogressive
-
have been de-escalatingperfect progressive
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has been de-escalatingperfect progressive
Past
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de-escalatedsimple
-
had de-escalatedperfect
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was de-escalatingprogressive
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were de-escalatingprogressive
-
had been de-escalatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of de-escalate
Explanation
When something de-escalates, it's turned down a notch, becoming quieter or calmer. If you want to de-escalate an argument between siblings you're babysitting, you might try giving them both a popsicle. In politics, de-escalating a situation can be a matter of life and death, as when mediators help de-escalate a conflict in order to avoid a war between two countries or groups. Whenever someone de-escalates an argument, they take something with potential to turn ugly or even violent and tone things down so that the issues can be calmly discussed. Police officers, diplomats, and elementary school teachers all need to learn to de-escalate intense situations.
Vocabulary lists containing de-escalate
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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:
The misconduct panel found Comotto and Smith did not attempt to de-escalate the situation before using force and had breached standards of professional behaviour.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
But for China, which has called on all sides to de-escalate, neutrality now comes at a cost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The Saudi message was that Iran’s proxies had been weakened and that it was now time to de-escalate, according to a person familiar with the meetings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
"Every day, I wake up wondering whether the situation will de-escalate or worsen," said Mustafa Mohamed, a 39-year-old Sudanese accountant in the Gulf country.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
AI companies in an effort to de-escalate concerns about the technology.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
While Citi’s commodity team is cautious on gold in the near term, it expects gold prices to bottom out when the Strait of Hormuz situation eventually de-escalates, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
“Assuming the war de-escalates in coming weeks and months, the U.S. economy should enjoy a better year of job growth in 2026 than 2025,” said Bill Adams, chief economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
The guidance assumes that the conflict in the Middle East de-escalates over the near-term and that SAP will close its deal for Reltio.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
A security worker de-escalates the situation, and a social worker helps them take some deep breaths.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
“It’s hard to see how the situation de-escalates from here,” wrote Madiha Afzal, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, in a text message.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2023
The goal, Bass said, is to “identify common themes or best practices that successfully de-escalated the incident or allowed officers to gain compliance.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
The price of oil on Monday fell by more than 9% to $87.59 a barrel at one point on hopes the conflict could be de-escalated.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The two nations have de-escalated from a tit-for-tat trade war last year that heightened tensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
I’ve known many police officers in my long career covering crime who could have de-escalated that event without bloodshed.
From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2026
“I believe China is open to discussion, and I am optimistic that this can be de-escalated ultimately,” Bessent said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar hosted a meeting with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt last month for discussions on de-escalating the conflict and then flew to Beijing for further talks.
From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026
Gold edged higher on signs of de-escalating Middle East tensions that could lead to lower oil prices and alleviate concerns over central banks’ rate increases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
President Abdel-Fattah Sissi of Egypt also said Monday that his country had delivered “clear messages” to Iran about de-escalating the conflict.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel on Monday to levels not seen since 2022 as the Iran conflict showed no signs of de-escalating, and more major oil producers began cutting oil output.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 9, 2026
This is attributed to a number of factors including major oil producers agreeing to keep output unchanged and signs of de-escalating tensions between the US and Iran.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
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.
