1.   But fighting and battle rhetoric has escalated in recent days.

2.   The rhetoric escalated.

3.   The sharp rhetoric has escalated and the indecision has become almost unbearable in Florida this week, as the nation waits for a winner.

4.   Their rhetoric escalated dangerously when Sudan threatened to divert waters from Egypt by building dams.

5.   US legislators and administration officials pledged to do their utmost, Nakayama said, to ensure that hostile rhetoric never escalates into confrontation between Taiwan and China.