most escalatory

es·ca·late

[es-kuh-leyt]
verb (used with object), verb (used without object), es·ca·lat·ed, es·ca·lat·ing.
1.
to increase in intensity, magnitude, etc.: to escalate a war; a time when prices escalate.
2.
to raise, lower, rise, or descend on or as if on an escalator.

Origin:
1920–25; back formation from escalator

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, re·es·ca·lat·ed, re·es·ca·lat·ing.
re·es·ca·la·tion, noun


1. advance, mount, swell.


1. lower, decrease, fall.


See percolate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Most escalatory is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
escalate (ˈɛskəˌleɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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