escalation
noun
Simple meaning
An increase to counteract a perceived discrepancy.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehskuhlayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɛskəˈleɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An increase to counteract a perceived discrepancy
“Higher wages caused an escalation of prices.”
The act of escalating.
A deliberate or premeditated increase in the violence or geographic scope of a conflict.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An increase to counteract a perceived discrepancy
Used this way, escalation is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Higher wages caused an escalation of prices.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “escalation of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: escalation of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use escalation
- “Higher wages caused an escalation of prices.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A reduction in intensity (of a crisis or a war).
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.