eskalieren

German

Etymology

From the root of Eskalation +‎ -ieren, modeled off English escalate. First attested in the late 1960s in the context of the Cold War.

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)

Verb

eskalieren (weak, third-person singular present eskaliert, past tense eskalierte, past participle eskaliert, auxiliary haben or sein)

  1. (intransitive) to escalate (to reach a new level of severity) [auxiliary sein]
    Synonym: sich ausweiten
    die Situation/Lage droht zu eskalierenthe situation is at the verge of escalating
  2. (ambitransitive) to escalate (to cause something to reach a new level of severity) [auxiliary haben]
    Antonym: deeskalieren
  3. (intransitive, colloquial) to go wild, to go crazy (especially of people) [auxiliary sein]

Usage notes

  • While eskalieren can refer to more gradual spread or worsening of situations, it most commonly refers specifically to the breakdown of a cooperative process and shift into an openly hostile one.

Conjugation

Derived terms

See also

Further reading