Synonyms

escalate

American

[es-kuh-leyt] / ˈɛs kəˌleɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

escalated, escalating

to increase in intensity, magnitude, etc..

to escalate a war; a time when prices escalate.

Synonyms:

swell, mount, advance

Antonyms:

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

escalate British

/ ˈɛskəˌleɪt /

verb

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

to escalate a war
prices escalated because of inflation

"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

Pronunciation

See percolate.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of escalate

First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from escalator

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.

"Children's rights are being compromised, and their needs don't disappear - they escalate when unsupported," she says.

From BBC

Duncan Toys has been producing yo-yos, flying discs and model gliders in China, and Washington's escalating tariffs with Beijing last year similarly forced him to pause imports.

From Barron's

She added that asking a young person "in crisis" to go into a small room to be scanned could also escalate the situation.

From BBC

On paper, the US military has the capacity to fulfil the commander-in-chief's objectives if tensions escalate.

From BBC

Amid the escalating warnings, Poland on Thursday ordered all its citizens in Iran to "leave immediately".

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023