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

People set goals, while agents plan and act within boundaries, escalating decisions that require human judgment or approval. — Maria Zhang, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Getting into spoilers, Matt’s escalating thirst for vengeance comes to a head at a nightclub owned by the mob boss who sliced up his face in the first place. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 26 Oct. 2026

The letters threaten criminal penalties for election officials who count the ballots, escalating a dispute already playing out in federal court. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026

But experts caution that escalating pressure does not necessarily mean Tehran will back down. — Lauren Morganbesser, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026

That hasn't been the trend lately, as Friday's slide in the stock market coincided with an aggressive sell-off in bonds, a trade largely driven by fears of escalating oil prices hitting both asset classes. — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

As French protesters took to the street this week over the country’s escalating debt crisis, poor school conditions, and political gridlock, retailers were caught in the crossfire. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

Yet missing from this bleak picture are the ways that Ukraine has already adapted to escalating attacks. — Tatiana Mitrova, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2026

The escalating fuel prices helped surcharge revenue nearly double at each railroad. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026