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

Their escalating ambitions threaten to tear the community apart. — John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026

The legal fight between Buc-ee's and a Georgia convenience store chain is escalating. — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

Nvidia top engineers may use over $250,000 per year in tokens, and Meta is starting to cap tokens used by employees due to escalating costs. — Steven Carlini, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Just as the tension on deck is escalating, Nathan tweaks his back putting down the water toys. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2026

The plan is the latest of a number of efforts to compensate people for using less water as the West faces an escalating water crisis. — Swasti Singhai, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

The trade pact also includes investments by the EU in American energy and military equipment — a deal made under the threat of escalating tariffs, according to a report from the World Economic Forum. — Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 4 Aug. 2026

Data from Freightos indicates that escalating fuel prices have not directly correlated with air freight rates yet. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 3 Aug. 2026

These hearings, however, did not directly lead to legislative change or provide a resolution to the escalating violence. — Elijah Tanall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026