How to Use de-escalate in a Sentence

de-escalate

verb
  • The man was already turning away by then — perhaps his own way of de-escalating the situation.
    Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 3 Nov. 2024
  • And so the work to de-escalate is work that is ongoing.
    Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2024
  • All the while, the White House insists Israel and Hezbollah still have time to step back and de-escalate.
    Aamer Madhani, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2024
  • Feeling heard helps them de-escalate the anger of defending a point of view.
    Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
  • Feeling heard helps them de-escalate the anger of defending a point of view.
    Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
  • And the Sheriff's deputies de-escalated that and broke that down very quickly.
    Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2023
  • Bunge argued that the two men failed to de-escalate the situation.
    Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Jones added that the situation could not have de-escalated when a weapon was drawn by the driver.
    Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Wood told the council that the U.S. aims to de-escalate the situation but that Iran's actions cannot go unanswered.
    NBC News, 15 Apr. 2024
  • When faced with the risk of a spiraling conflict, rivals often find off-ramps to de-escalate crises.
    Erik Lin-Greenberg, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2024
  • The officers were aggressive from the start and did not attempt to de-escalate the situation, the suit claims.
    Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2023
  • Starmer said in his own statement that he was deeply concerned by the situation in the region and called on all parties to de-escalate.
    Greg Norman, Fox News, 13 Aug. 2024
  • As Carson tried to de-escalate the situation, the suspect swung a knife at him, Kenny said.
    Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Blinken stressed the need to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank and expressed his sympathies for Thursday's attack in Jerusalem that killed three civilians.
    Vivian Salama, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Marcello tries to de-escalate the confrontation while Lenù looks on, scared.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024
  • But the official said the parties also discussed how to de-escalate the fighting in the more likely scenario at the moment of no Gaza ceasefire deal in the near term.
    Barak Ravid, Axios, 4 Sep. 2024
  • Neither side would de-escalate, but neither side seemed willing to take everyone over the brink.
    Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 12 Feb. 2024
  • Why had the officers not tried to de-escalate the situation?
    Tim Arango, New York Times, 8 June 2023
  • For months, that response never came and tensions appeared to de-escalate given the grave consequences of an all-out war in the Middle East.
    Helen Regan, CNN, 2 Oct. 2024
  • In the process, a policy intended to de-escalate will serve only to appease.
    Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
  • The witnesses added that Sibley tried to de-escalate the situation before he was stabbed in the torso.
    Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Without guardrails, red lines or a strategy to de-escalate, further conflict remains in the cards.
    Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2024
  • After around an hour of trying to shake the paparazzi, the Sussexes arrived at the 19th precinct on East 67th street, waiting for the situation to de-escalate.
    Town & Country, 18 May 2023
  • Kellum fired a shot into the ground while the officers and deputies were trying to de-escalate the situation, McCutchan said.
    Fox Digital Staff, The Enquirer, 20 June 2023
  • Woodyard’s use of the carotid hold amounted to an attempt to de-escalate the situation, the defense lawyer insisted.
    Eric Levenson, CNN, 17 Oct. 2023
  • Both men went through a weeklong training that included how to use a firearm and how to de-escalate a situation, Jones explained.
    Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 21 Feb. 2023
  • After that, use the final 30 seconds to create a coping statement that will help de-escalate your emotions.
    Time, 18 July 2023
  • Walker put stop sticks down in an attempt to de-escalate the situation but was struck by the suspect's vehicle.
    Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 15 May 2024
  • That’s when Helms and Griffith rely on their relationship to come in and de-escalate the situation.
    Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024
  • But family members are angry and feel deputies didn’t do enough to de-escalate the situation.
    Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'de-escalate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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