ESCALATION Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

escalation

noun

Definition of escalation

as in expansion

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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 escalation Saudi Arabia's leaders are trying to avoid further regional escalation that would risk miscalculation or prolonging of the war. — Margaret Brennan, CBS News, 30 July 2026 Thousands of migrants breached the frontier into Spain’s tiny North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, surging past beach breakwaters and onto local roads in a dramatic border escalation. — Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026 The escalation at the frontier between Spain and Morocco comes after a surge in migrants attempting to reach the small exclave, mainly by swimming, on Wednesday. — ABC News, 30 July 2026 Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened further escalation in response. — Spencer Kimball,joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 30 July 2026 Today’s significant escalation by UEFA is the latest chapter in an often tense and difficult relationship between FIFA and UEFA in recent years. — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 30 July 2026 That has largely remained true one year later, though fear remains high among immigrants amid an escalation of arrests, deportations and crackdown on the legal immigration system. — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 30 July 2026 The exchange has raised fears of a wider escalation in the conflict. — Daniela Suarez, NBC news, 29 July 2026 Despite the recent escalation in Iran, this conflict will eventually draw to a close. — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for escalation

Noun

The final day of the month sees Jupiter (the planet of good luck and expansion) in Leo making a harmonious trine to Saturn (the planet of discipline and structure) in Aries.

— Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2026
Billionaires buying up South Florida real estate, corporate expansions and a widening gulf between luxury and everyday home prices are changing Miami-Dade’s economic landscape.

— Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026

Definition of expansion

Noun

Potential monetary policy task force recommendations may involve less transparent communication, a smaller balance sheet with stability risks, and inflation metrics that produce a lower reading.

— David Zhang, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
This, as Iran’s currency continues to slide, inflation spirals, and unemployment rises.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of inflation

Noun

Plants and animals keenly sense the diminishing light, which acts as a master biological clock that triggers changes such as migration, shifting hormone levels and winter coat growth.

— Charles Seabrook, AJC.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Let yourself be led with heart by doing things that are healthy, mature, and growth-oriented and let go of thinking that being ready is a feeling.

— Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of growth

Noun

This comes as some Windows users have pushed back on the AI creep in Windows; Microsoft even removed Copilot from some less useful locations in Windows 11 in April.

— James Peckham, PC Magazine, 30 July 2026
Hathaway, in her third collaboration with Nolan, is cunning but weary, while Pattinson is just a fantastic creep.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 24 July 2026

Definition of creep

Noun

Others offered food, money, transportation, legal assistance, public credibility or amplification.

— Penny Abeywardena, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Even so, sonic adventurers, beginning with Leopold Stokowski in the 1930s, experimented with amplification in an obsessive, seemingly quixotic effort to locate a mythical sonic grail on the Cahuenga Pass.

— Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

Definition of amplification

Noun

Other symptoms include difficulty breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension, and constipation.

— Saleen Martin, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
Difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension, and constipation may also be common symptoms.

— Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 21 Jan. 2026

Definition of distension

Noun

With the rise of modern conservatism in the ’70s and ’80s, Main said influential figures on the right began to approach politics as war.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 30 July 2026
Those worries came to a head after the May election rout, leading to Starmer’s fall and Burnham’s rise.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026

Definition of rise

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“Escalation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/escalation. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of escalation

noun

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