This conflict has been going on for three years and is escalating all the time.

But as the conflict has escalated so have the stakes.

"Now the conflict has escalated, and who knows to what extent."

Or at least, conflict would not escalate past the point of no return.

By the end of the month, the conflict had escalated to the first fatalities.

By 1992 the conflict had escalated into a full-scale war.

Should he have the guards intervene before the conflict escalated?

We responded with conventional forces, and the conflict escalated from there.

The risk is rising that internal political conflicts will escalate.

The conflict eventually escalated to involve 400 employers and 25,000 workers.