ESCALATING Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

escalating

verb

present participle of escalate

as in increasing

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 accelerating

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 escalating The goal is to prevent conflict from escalating to the point where productive communication becomes impossible. —

Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026 At a time of escalating viral threats, this is a take better suited to online feuds than to biosecurity strategy from the apex of American public health. —

Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 24 May 2026 Russian officials have repeatedly accused Western countries of escalating tensions through military support for Kyiv and increased NATO activity near Russia’s borders. —

Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 22 May 2026 The escalating humanitarian crisis within Cuba remains a wildcard that could yet force either side into improvising responses. —

Sam Meredith, CNBC, 22 May 2026 One Of The Family by Mark Edwards When Patrick joins his girlfriend’s wealthy family on a remote Scottish getaway, he is quickly pulled into escalating tensions surrounding their father’s much-younger fiancée, Jasmine. —

Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 22 May 2026 The move comes amid fragile ceasefire violations, escalating rhetoric and shifting deadlines, with Washington and Tehran trading fire last week while talks stall over Iran’s nuclear program and regional security. —

Michelle L. Price, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2026 As swirling rumors and escalating fears mount of imminent US-Israeli strikes, there is a growing sense of inevitability among many Iranians about the resumption of hostilities. —

Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 18 May 2026 What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions. —

Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for escalating

Verb

The pacemaker transformed cardiac medicine by dramatically increasing survival rates for patients with arrhythmias and heart block, becoming one of the most important life-saving medical technologies ever created.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Rain and storm chances are increasing in the afternoon.

— Garfield Hylton, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 May 2026