escalation
CulturalExplanation
An escalation is an increase or growth. When there's an escalation in tension between two countries, it means that things have become much more strained between them. An escalation in Christmas tree prices means that your holiday decor will be more expensive this year, and an escalation of violence in a particular country will probably keep you from traveling there until things calm down. When something gets bigger or more intense, there's an escalation. The word comes from the verb escalate, which in turn is a back-formation from escalator. The Latin root of all three words is scala, or "ladder."
Vocabulary lists containing escalation
The Vocabulary of Soviet-Era Nostalgia & Cold War Spy Words
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 7–August 13, 2021
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STAAR U.S. History 4
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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.
The escalation in attacks on Monday dashed optimism among investors who had been hoping for an imminent peace deal to end the war in Iran.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country requested the UN Security Council meeting, said Sunday that "nothing justifies the major escalation under way in south Lebanon".
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
The escalation is piling more pressure on Lebanon’s fragile government and complicating negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, which has made an end to fighting on that front one of its conditions for a deal.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
The escalation threatens to derail talks aimed at ending the war between the US, Israel and Iran.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
The escalation of military force was quite dramatic in cities throughout the United States.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
