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de-escalate

or de·es·ca·late

[dee-es-kuh-leyt]
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verb (used with or without object), de-es·ca·lat·ed, de-es·ca·lat·ing.
  1. to decrease in intensity, magnitude, etc.: to de-escalate a war.
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Origin of de-escalate

First recorded in 1960–65; de- + escalate
Related formsde-es·ca·la·tion, de·es·ca·la·tion, nounde-es·ca·la·to·ry, de·es·ca·la·to·ry [dee-es-kuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /diˈɛs kə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for deescalation

de-escalate

verb
  1. to reduce the level or intensity of (a crisis, etc)
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Derived Formsde-escalation, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deescalation

de-escalate

v.

also deescalate, 1964, from de- + escalate. Related: De-escalated; de-escalating; de-escalation.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper