escalate

[es-kuh-leyt]

See more synonyms for escalate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object), es·ca·lat·ed, es·ca·lat·ing.

to increase in intensity, magnitude, etc.: to escalate a war; a time when prices escalate.
to raise, lower, rise, or descend on or as if on an escalator.

Origin of escalate

First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from escalator

Related formses·ca·la·tion, nounes·ca·la·to·ry

[es-kuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈɛs kə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivenon·es·ca·lat·ing, adjectivenon·es·ca·la·to·ry, adjectivere·es·ca·late, verb, re·es·ca·lat·ed, re·es·ca·lat·ing.re·es·ca·la·tion, noun

Synonyms for escalate

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1. advance, mount, swell.

Antonyms for escalate

1. lower, decrease, fall.

Pronunciation note

See percolate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for escalate

widen, raise, intensify, mount, rise, heighten, grow, expand, scale, extend, magnify, broaden, ascend, enlarge, climb, amplify

Examples from the Web for escalate

Contemporary Examples of escalate

Given the potential for a cyber tit-for-tat to escalate, Obama has even more incentive to find a diplomatic solution.
Obama Could Hit China to Punish North Korea
Shane Harris, Tim Mak
December 20, 2014
It does, and certainly has, helped to escalate the crisis by having this militaristic response to it.
Rory Kennedy on ‘Last Days in Vietnam,’ the Parallels Between Vietnam and Iraq, and Ferguson
Marlow Stern
September 1, 2014
Washington, in particular, has been loath to do anything that might escalate.
Is North Korea Collecting American Hostages?
Kyle Mizokami
June 7, 2014
Since Sunday, senior U.S. officials have publicly warned Russia not to escalate the already delicate situation in the Ukraine.
Putin’s Bluff? U.S. Spies Say Russia Won't Invade Ukraine
Eli Lake
February 27, 2014
These skirmishes are expected to escalate and could eventually include rocket attacks into nearby Israeli towns.
What Israel Really Thinks About Syria
Yaakov Katz
May 23, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for escalate

escalate

verb

to increase or be increased in extent, intensity, or magnitudeto escalate a war; prices escalated because of inflation

Derived Formsescalation, noun

Word Origin for escalate

C20: back formation from escalator

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 escalate

1922, back-formation from escalator, replacing earlier verb escalade (1801), from the noun escalade. Escalate came into general use with a figurative sense of "raise" after 1959 in reference to the possibility of nuclear war. Related: Escalated; escalating.