Synonyms of escalating

escalating

verb

present participle of escalate

1

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

• increasing
• rising
• accelerating
• swelling
• expanding
• intensifying
• climbing
• multiplying
• proliferating
• snowballing
• mounting
• accumulating
• waxing
• mushrooming
• ballooning
• spreading
• surging
• burgeoning
• booming
• enlarging
• gaining
• rolling up
• skyrocketing
• heightening
• jumping
• appreciating
• building up
• rocketing
• inflating
• peaking
• redoubling
• distending
• puffing (up)
• cresting
• bulking
• crescendoing
• blowing up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• decreasing
• diminishing
• contracting
• lessening
• receding
• waning
• dwindling

2

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

• increasing
• accelerating
• expanding
• boosting
• augmenting
• raising
• multiplying
• extending
• intensifying
• swelling
• enhancing
• stoking
• compounding
• amplifying
• reinforcing
• adding (to)
• enlarging
• upping
• strengthening
• maximizing
• hyping
• skyrocketing
• pumping up
• building up
• aggrandizing
• spiking
• supersizing
• heightening
• supplementing
• booming
• developing
• jumping
• inflating
• prolonging
• lengthening
• stretching
• bumping (up)
• complementing
• distending
• elongating
• drawing out
• dilating
• protracting
• accumulating
• ratcheting (up)
• magnifying
• blowing up
• fleshing (out)
• amassing
• collecting
• racheting (up)
• beefing (up)
• following up
• parlaying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reducing
• decreasing
• diminishing
• lowering
• dwindling
• lessening
• downsizing
• subtracting (from)
• abating
• curtailing
• shortening
• de-escalating
• abbreviating
• contracting
• abridging
• compressing
• minifying
• condensing
• constricting
• cutting back
• retrenching

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of escalating

An international mission in March documented escalating police violence, smear campaigns fueled by public officials, persistent impunity, legal and digital threats and the ruling party's efforts to tighten its grip over the media, CPJ said. — Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026

The repeater tax rate charges a much higher, escalating penalty per dollar spent over the luxury tax, compared to the standard luxury tax penalty. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026

An international mission in March documented escalating police violence, smear campaigns fueled by public officials, persistent impunity, legal and digital threats and the ruling party’s efforts to tighten its grip over the media, CPJ said. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026

Meanwhile, escalating bombardments by Russia and Ukraine — which together account for a quarter of the global wheat supply — on each other’s shipping infrastructure are piling pressure on food prices. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Lindsay was also prescribed an escalating number of prescription drugs. — Ross Douthat, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026

If not for the sudden availability of long-distance ocean transport (not to mention constant engineering challenges and the escalating cost of the plan), D-Day may have required far more woollen socks. — Mike McRae 16, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2026

Now, the research and development in this realm is further gaining momentum, especially at times when the energy footprint of modern electronics is rapidly escalating. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2026

According to Victoria Samson, chief director for space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation (SWF), the militarization is escalating rapidly in Earth orbit as more nations develop robust space programs. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026