escalatory

[es-kuh-luh-tawr-ee]

adjective

1. tending to escalate or increase by increments, especially in contexts of reciprocal aggression, hostility, or arms buildups.

Example Sentences

"We urge Iran to refrain from any escalatory action," they said in a joint statement, adding: "The reimposition of UN sanctions is not the end of diplomacy."

From BBC

"Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop," it said.

From BBC

“I don’t want to speculate what’s in his brain, but just taking the evidence as it is — what he said during the Black Lives Matter protests; the fact that he’s taking this maximalist approach to deploying troops—he is eager to create escalatory situations.”

From Salon

But he cautioned that continuing on the path of “escalatory actions” would lead to “catastrophic consequences” and that Qatar had warned of the dangers from Israel’s campaign on Iran.

From Los Angeles Times

It was an intentionally disproportionate and escalatory response, all to scratch an anti-immigrant, anti-leftist itch that top policy adviser Stephen Miller and “border czar” Tom Homan have had for years.

From Slate