escalation
Conflict getting worse
Escalation is an increase in intensity, scope, or severity—typically of conflict, tension, or costs.
What begins as a minor disagreement may undergo escalation into something serious: The border skirmish threatened escalation into full-scale war.
The term implies a step-by-step progression upward, each move prompting a larger response.
De-escalation is its opposite.
Armed struggle between groups
- hostilitiesActive armed fighting
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
- confrontationDirect hostile encounter
- violenceHarmful physical force
warfare · combat · clash · battle · fighting · insurgency · skirmish · belligerence
Increase in intensity
- heighteningIncreasing in degree
- exacerbationMaking something more severe
- aggravationState of being vexed
- worseningBecoming more severe
compounding · magnification · acceleration · ratcheting · spiraling · snowballing · mounting · buildup
Move to higher position
- surgeSudden powerful increase
- spikeSharp rise or point
- climbAscend using effort
- jumpPropel oneself airborne
growth · expansion · proliferation · inflation · upturn · upswing · boom · ballooning
Pushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- standoffUnresolved confrontation between opponents
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- sanctionsPunitive international restrictions
- ultimatumNon-negotiable final terms
deadlock · impasse · stalemate · détente · summit · negotiations · mediation · diplomacy
war
Armed struggle between groups
- hostilitiesActive armed fighting
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
- confrontationDirect hostile encounter
violence · warfare · combat · clash · battle · fighting · insurgency · skirmish · belligerence · antagonism
amplification
Increase in intensity
- heighteningIncreasing in degree
- exacerbationMaking something more severe
- aggravationState of being vexed
worsening · compounding · magnification · acceleration · ratcheting · spiraling · snowballing · mounting · buildup · surge
rise
Move to higher position
jump · growth · expansion · proliferation · inflation · upturn · upswing · boom · ballooning · soaring
brinkmanship
Pushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- standoffUnresolved confrontation between opponents
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- sanctionsPunitive international restrictions
ultimatum · deadlock · impasse · stalemate · détente · summit · negotiations · mediation · diplomacy · dialogue
stress
Pressure, mental or vocal
hostility · friction · unease · agitation · volatility · simmering · heated · charged · inflammatory · provocative
steps
Sequential actions in process
- ascendingMoving upward
- mechanizedPowered by machines
- airportAviation passenger facility
- plot devicesMacGuffin, red herring, plot twist, flashback, foreshadowing
- escalationratchet up, worsen, intensify, crank it up, amplify
- military posturingsaber rattling, show of force, posturing, brinkmanship, brinksmanship
- WWI causesassassination, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Sarajevo, militarism, alliances
- vicious cyclesvicious cycle, downward spiral, debt spiral, death spiral, shame spiral
- conflittoguerra, lotta, lite, duello
escalationde-escalation
Reducing conflict intensity
reduction · decrease · decline · diminution · moderation
escalationde-escalation
Reducing conflict intensity
ceasefire · détente · reconciliation · truce · appeasement
- de-escalation techniquesMethods to lower conflict intensity
- privilege escalationGaining unauthorized higher permissions
- rampant escalationUncontrolled rapid increase
- rent escalationContractual payment increases over time
escalating, escalations, de-escalation, de-escalating, re-escalation