ESCALATES Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

escalates

verb

present tense third-person singular of escalate

as in increases

to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number as the war between the two countries escalated, it threatened to become a global conflict

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in accelerates

to make greater in size, amount, or number the president promised to escalate the government's program to combat the dreaded disease

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of escalates What begins as a routine job escalates into a battle where they are outnumbered, outgunned and forced to become better partners. — Justin Kroll, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2026 Whenever offered a chance for rapprochement, Dahlia escalates. — B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 The conflict between pragmatism and generosity begins at a small scale and incrementally escalates. — Kambole Campbell, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026 The finger-pointing escalates a long-standing argument between places led by Democrats and the federal government over federal immigration law – and who should help enforce it. — Sarah Matusek, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026 News conference escalates family of Secoriea Turner’s fight over Rick Jackson campaign ads. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 6 Oct. 2026 The situation escalates as the mariachi music begins playing and the couple approach a display of white roses and candles laid out on the grass. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 When murder escalates from a scheme to action, her secret becomes an unbearable burden to carry. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026 That information can then trigger a workflow that assigns the appropriate specialist, sets a deadline, monitors progress and escalates the issue when an exception occurs. — Michael Goshka, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for escalates

Verb

Coordinating updates across replicas increases communication overhead.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
CrowdStrike and other cyber companies, like fellow Club holding Palo Alto Networks , have been warning that the proliferation of AI agents increases digital vulnerabilities exponentially and call for a new kind of security.

— Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of increases

Verb

Its electric motor drives the fan, which accelerates air backward to produce forward thrust.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
Google just posted two quarters of negative free cash flow for the first time on record as AI spending accelerates while revenue isn’t growing as fast as expected.

— Lucy Bayly, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of accelerates

Verb

South Korea's strong economic growth has been driven largely by semiconductor exports as global demand for computing power rises with the AI boom.

— Lim Hui Jie,Jenny Lee, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2026
For those graduating from the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne (ECSCP), which was folded into the IFM in 2019 and focuses on fashion and couture craft and technique, the ratio rises to nearly 100 percent.

— Miles Socha, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of rises

Verb

As artificial intelligence capital expenditure expands, market attention extends beyond fundraising capacity and buyback sustainability to whether this investment cycle can persist, and how much volatility a slowdown might induce.

— , CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026
More persistent cases may be treated with a procedure that expands the joint capsule or, less commonly, surgery.

— Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of expands

Verb

The climate pattern also boosts precipitation in Florida from fall to spring.

— Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026
However many fuel boosts Starship ends up needing to get from LEO to the surface of the moon, its staggered orbital staging will apparently create some flexibility around when SLS can launch the Artemis IV astronauts to begin their mission.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of boosts

Verb

The nonbinding vote comes as Washington intensifies pressure on Cuba, whose fuel shortages have fueled power outages disrupting cooking, water service and communications.

— Farnoush Amiri, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Trump’s influence over Republican voters intensifies these incentives.

— Stephanie A, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of intensifies

Verb

Enabling that mode augments the on-device scam detection first shipped in March 2025, adding cloud analysis run in Google’s Private AI Compute environment.

— Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
That the stakes are high only augments the thrill of unlocking their working equation.

— Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of augments

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escalated

escalates

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“Escalates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/escalates. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of escalates

verb

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