de-escalate

or de·es·ca·late

[ dee-es-kuh-leyt ]
See synonyms for de-escalate on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of de-escalate

1
First recorded in 1960–65; de- + escalate

Other words from de-escalate

  • de-es·ca·la·tion, de·es·ca·la·tion, noun
  • de-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. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for de-escalate

de-escalate

/ (diːˈɛskəˌleɪt) /


verb
  1. to reduce the level or intensity of (a crisis, etc)

Derived forms of de-escalate

  • de-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