es
ca
late
Third Person
escalates
Present Participle
escalating
Past Tense
escalated
Past Participle
escalated
1
to make something become much worse or more intense
transitive
- Ignoring the initial signs of conflict can escalate the situation.
- Failure to address the issue promptly may escalate tensions within the community.
- The politician's inflammatory remarks escalated the tensions between the two parties.
- The company's decision to cut benefits was continuously escalating employee dissatisfaction.
- The company's poor decisions escalated its financial struggles.
2
to become much worse or more intense
- Misunderstandings can quickly escalate if not addressed early.
- Ongoing conflicts are currently escalating in the troubled region.
- The political unrest has escalated over the past few months.
- The disagreement between the two parties escalated into a full-blown dispute.
- Tensions were continuously escalating as negotiations broke down.
Antonyms: