Escalation

(′es·kə′lā·shən)

(industrial engineering) Provision in actual or estimated costs for inflational increases in the costs of equipment, materials, labor, and so on, over those specified in an original contract.

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noun

The act of increasing or rising: aggrandizement, amplification, augment, augmentation, boost, buildup, enlargement, growth, hike, increase, jump, multiplication, proliferation, raise, rise, swell, upsurge, upswing, upturn. See increase/decrease.

n

Definition: intensification
Antonyms: relaxation

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noun 1. the use of successively more powerful types of weapons in war.

2. the development of conventional warfare into nuclear warfare.

3. the process of increasing armaments, prices, wages, etc.

Etymology: from escalate, which originally meant 'ride on an escalator, ' a back-formation from escalator, originally a trade name.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

(DOD) A deliberate or unpremeditated increase in scope or violence of a conflict.

An increase in the intensity or geographical scope of a war or diplomatic confrontation. For example, during the Korean War, some Americans urged escalation of the war through bombing of the People's Republic of China.

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