1
as in to increase
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
as the war between the two countries escalated, it threatened to become a global conflict
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to accelerate
to make greater in size, amount, or number
the president promised to escalate the government's program to combat the dreaded disease
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of escalate
The changes also escalated the trade war with China.
—
Bailey Schulz, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2025
And in the face of unknowns about how much further measures could escalate, voices from Beijing appear calm.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
The White House's move followed a sharp reaction from global financial markets, which had seen trillions in value wiped out due to fears of an escalating trade war.
—Daniel R. Depetris, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
The announcement came as markets continued to struggle, as escalating trade worries dented investors sentiment and raised worries of a recession.
—Fred Imbert, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for escalate
Bailey Schulz, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2025
And in the face of unknowns about how much further measures could escalate, voices from Beijing appear calm.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
The White House's move followed a sharp reaction from global financial markets, which had seen trillions in value wiped out due to fears of an escalating trade war.
—Daniel R. Depetris, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
The announcement came as markets continued to struggle, as escalating trade worries dented investors sentiment and raised worries of a recession.
—Fred Imbert, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for escalate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for escalate
Verb
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Those unused hours can, however, be converted to service credit to increase their government pensions.—
Melody Gutierrez,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2025
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What Murray did in the second half was increase his aggression off the dribble.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The improved coding and long-context capabilities could accelerate software development cycles, enabling developers to tackle more complex problems, analyze legacy code more effectively, or generate code documentation and tests more efficiently.—
Janakiram MSV,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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The blaze accelerated quickly because of the Molotov cocktails, Enterline said.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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This solid version is similarly lush, infusing a base of rose wax with the signature floral bouquet—think lily, iris, peony, and tons of slightly spice rose—along with vanilla and Tonka bean.—
Deanna Pai,
Vogue,
17 Apr. 2025
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Single-family housing starts rose 11.4 percent in February, the highest rate in a year, but are primarily happening in just one part of the country.—
Sylvan Lane,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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That’s the plan at the 49ers’ facility where workers are tearing out the lone artificial surface field in preparation of expanding the team’s grass practice fields.—
Matt Barrows,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
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In 2024, the league took concrete steps in that direction, expanding the number of international roster spots from five per team to seven.—
Asli Pelit,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Before the pandemic, Jackson County Public Health had about 30 employees, but swelled to about 120 during the crisis.—
Jonathan Shorman,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2025
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The agency hopes the undertaking will accommodate population swells on Fort Worth’s western outskirts.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The rubber match has augmented stakes in a Tournament field with increasing parity.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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Attention also could be paid to dismantling foreign anticompetitive market distortions, in order to augment the benefits achieved through the Task Force.—
Alden Abbott,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Patterson’s departure likely will intensify UM’s efforts to find a starting caliber safety in the portal.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2025
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In this context of uncertainty, competition intensifies on entry and middle market watches.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In 2022, a consortium of private retirement-plan providers announced a collaboration to boost the portability of small retirement accounts.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
20 Apr. 2025
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Software developers will rely on the Switch 2 to boost their game sales, and analysts view the console as a bellwether for the video game industry.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
19 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Escalate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/escalate. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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