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 former friends’ quickly escalating feud is often too earth-shattering too laugh at, but the dark-comic hijinks still work to illustrate the parallels between Alice and Steve. —

Ben Travers, IndieWire, 8 June 2026 The company is grappling with escalating competition from chief rivals Anthropic and Google, faces lawsuits alleging ChatGPT played a role in shootings and suicides and is combatting general consumer backlash against AI. —

Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 8 June 2026 From Saint-Marc to Thailand to Miami to Ecuador Born and raised in Saint-Marc, a port city now grappling with escalating gang violence, Adé plays center back for LDU Quito in Ecuador. —

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 6 June 2026 The teen witness said Hunter Metcalf, the victim’s twin brother, told Anthony to leave in an escalating tone of aggression. —

Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 6 June 2026 One of the app’s key features is its standardized approach for collecting information, allowing individual officers and various departments and agencies to compare data and detect trends – especially from repeat offenders who may be escalating – more efficiently. —

New Atlas, 6 June 2026 Day to day, ordinary Peruvians in the coastal cities and in the interior are dealing with escalating crime, fear of impending natural disasters, and corruption and incompetence at every level of government. —

Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026 Views on the morality of gay relationships and gender transition are also softening, with acceptance falling since 2022 amid widening partisan divides and escalating state-level battles over LGBTQ+ rights. —

Geoff Mulvihill, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026 The strikes came a day after Russian forces launched a massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, killing at least 22 civilians and wounding 138, as Moscow followed through with its threat of escalating its regular barrages. —

ABC News, 3 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for escalating

Verb

Eight years later, Loomis voters approved Measure C with more than 71% support, extending the existing tax without increasing the rate.

— Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 12 June 2026
Starting July 1, according to an SEC filing Thursday, his target annual bonus is rising to $9 million, and his target annual equity award increasing to $20 million.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 11 June 2026