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escalate

[es-kuh-leyt]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -lat·ed, -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:
1920–25; back formation from escalator

Related forms

es·ca·la·tion, noun

es·ca·la·to·ry

[es-kuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective

non·es·ca·lat·ing, adjective

non·es·ca·la·to·ry, adjective

re·es·ca·late, verb, -lat·ed, -lat·ing.

EXPAND

re·es·ca·la·tion, noun

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. advance, mount, swell.

Antonyms
1. lower, decrease, fall.

Pronunciation note
See percolate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To escalate

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Escalate is one of our favorite verbs.

So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Example Sentences

Extended deep into adulthood, the stakes escalate exponentially.

Ability to work independently, manage tasks to timely completion and appropriately escalate issues.

It is too early to tell whether the protests will escalate into a full-blown political crisis.

EXPAND

Extended deep into adulthood, the stakes escalate exponentially.

Ability to work independently, manage tasks to timely completion and appropriately escalate issues.

It is too early to tell whether the protests will escalate into a full-blown political crisis.

We can only clean up behind it and hope the activity will not escalate.

America continues to escalate its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are slowly roasting the globe.

But lack of consumer awareness allows the war to escalate.

Do not hesitate to escalate if you have even the slightest concern at any time.

We urge all students, workers, and faculty members to get involved and to escalate resistance across the state.

China does not seem keen to escalate this particular dispute.

Most people aren't used to seeing the subtle behaviors that can easily escalate into major behavioral problems.

Swine flu has yet to escalate into a global pandemic, but here's what to do if it does.

The discovery that tungsten, by itself in the environment, is also hazardous may escalate things to a new level.

When one of those arrangements ends badly, it can escalate into ugliness.

Wars escalate because one side prefers the next step up the ladder to defeat.

Your puppy is showing signs of aggression that will only escalate if not handled properly.

The emissions will escalate as nitrogen trifluoride's use increases.

Instead of using sweeps of dramatic music to escalate the drama, the underlying tracks provide an accompaniment to the characters.

From everything you've said, the hoarding is only going to escalate over time, regardless.

Tensions may escalate further in the early part of the forecast period.

The system allows for new line to be pulled through in the future, in case the technology improves or bandwidth needs escalate.

Stress does matter and can escalate the allergy induced hives when they normally would not pop out.

The risk is that an unexpected incident could escalate as the hot line goes unanswered.

Deferred maintenance, however, has crippling consequences because the costs tend to escalate over time.

Yet the prime minister chose not to escalate the dispute.

Petty jealousies and misunderstandings between two rival families escalate into a tragic outburst of violence in this drama.

If the intent was to escalate the situation into an unambiguously political one, it was a stupid thing to do.

It's only going to get worse and escalate if ignored.

There is still a chance for violence to escalate if this coalition fails''.

Equally, plenty of disputes might more easily escalate into war if the countries concerned had the naval strength to wage.

When it comes to security, it's always easier to escalate than to lower, to add than to subtract.

It is possible that these similarities could escalate into something horrifying.

Meanwhile, the staff tries to help a man woo a female friend who doesn't know he wants to escalate their relationship.

If they were scarce, then their salaries would escalate.

First, developed nations must escalate efforts to share existing technologies with small-scale farmers.

Allowing opponents to attack an insecure ruler could quickly escalate.

If there is a future conflict, it could escalate into mutually ruinous nuclear cataclysm.

But, in my experience, that level of willingness to escalate up the chain of command is extremely rare.

But without outside intervention, the violence is sure to escalate.

The possession of the gun makes it easier to escalate non-violent crime rapidly.

It will be interesting to see how much the violence will escalate if nothing changes, and the unstable government is not repaired.

The nature of intervention is crutial or else it will escalate the problem.

UN peace keepers should be sent in afterwards to ensure conflicts among tribes won't escalate.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

escalate (ˈɛskəˌleɪt)

—vb
	to increase or be increased in extent, intensity, or magnitude: to escalate a war; prices escalated because of inflation

[C20: back formation from escalator]

esca'lation

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

escalate

1922, back formation from escalator; it came into general use with a sense of "raise" after 1959. Related: Escalated; escalating.

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