1-Stop Dictionary Reference

Escalate

Acceptable For Game Play - US & UK word lists

This word is acceptable for play in the US & UK dictionaries that are being used in the following games:

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

v. To increase, enlarge, or intensify: escalated the hostilities in the Persian Gulf.

verb-intransitive. To increase in intensity or extent: "a deepening long-term impasse that is certain to escalate” ( Stewart L. Udall).

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

v. to increase (something) in extent or intensity; to intensify or step up

v. in technical support, to transfer a telephone caller to the next higher level of authority

WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

v. increase in extent or intensity

Word Usage

"The term escalate became popular during the Vietnam War and refers to the United States' significantly increasing its involvement, but the term also carries an undertone of blunder."

Verb Form

escalated escalates escalating

Hypernym

Words that are more generic or abstract

increase

Hyponym

redouble

Form

deescalate