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Webster's New World College Dictionary » escalated
escalated
Variant of escalate
escalate
definition
☆ es·ca·late (es′kə lāt′)
intransitive verb escalated -·lat′ed, escalating -·lat′·ing
- to rise on or as on an escalator
- to expand step by step, as from a limited or local conflict into a general, esp. nuclear, war
- to grow or increase rapidly, often to the point of becoming unmanageable, as prices or wages
Etymology: back-form. < escalator
transitive verb
to cause to escalate
Related Forms:
- escalation es′·ca·la′·tion noun
- escalatory es′·ca·la·to′ry (-lə tôr′ē) adjective
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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