1
as in reduced
to make smaller in amount, volume, or extent
first, the mediator tried to de-escalate the tension in the room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decreased
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually
the fighting de-escalated as the peace talks progressed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of de-escalated
Officers de-escalated the scene, and there were no arrests made, police told the outlet.
—
Daniel S. Levine, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Officers de-escalated the situation and arrested 22-year-old Antonio Mellon.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
Officers de-escalated the situation and got him safely to the ground, Caylor said.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
Daniel S. Levine, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Officers de-escalated the situation and arrested 22-year-old Antonio Mellon.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
Officers de-escalated the situation and got him safely to the ground, Caylor said.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for de-escalated
Verb
-
The defendants' sentences were reduced because they were abused by the victims, in accordance with the New York Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, legislation that Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney criticized.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
15 Jan. 2026
-
The report points out that keyboards and computers reduced the need for handwriting, and calculators automated basic math.—
Cory Turner,
NPR,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While the short-term base rate decreased thanks to cuts from the Fed last year, analysts are widely expecting the base rate to decrease at a slower pace in the New Year.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
12 Jan. 2026
-
When eccentricity decreased, the climate shifted toward drier conditions.—
Stefanie Waldek,
Space.com,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In the two weeks since the Justice Department failed to fully meet a legal deadline to release its expansive tranche of files on Jeffrey Epstein, old conspiracy theories about his life and death have subsided and new ones have taken shape.—
Stephen Fowler,
NPR,
2 Jan. 2026
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As entheogenic effects subsided, the digital-age healer pulled out her iPhone and showed me photos from her recent trip home.—
María Cristina Lalonde,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
What happens when these cues are greatly diminished or erased either by plastic surgery or other aesthetic interventions?—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
15 Jan. 2026
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The prestige of its domestic institutions, once a pillar of American hegemony, has diminished.—
Pratap Bhanu Mehta,
Time,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
For about a month, nobody had any idea who had felled the tree, and nobody could work out why it had been done.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
The greatest damage appeared concentrated in the North Bay, where gusty winds felled numerous trees.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
24 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
But one year has not eased the pain felt by the parents of Nicholas Burkett.—
Olivia Young,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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Digital advance booking has eased the process, allowing travelers to bypass terminal queues at Cebu’s busy Pier 1.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“De-escalated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/de-escalated. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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