spiraled

Given the scale of the crowd, Fernandes said the incident could have easily spiraled into a mass casualty event.

The men, apparently assuming the Chinese-born Chin was Japanese, taunted him with racist slurs in a confrontation that spiraled into a vicious attack outside the club.

Estimates for the cost of new septic systems and protective seawalls have spiraled to $500,000 and considerably more, homeowners say.

The neighborhood spat spiraled out of control almost immediately.

When Osmond casually remarked that “Things must come to an end at midnight” — meaning simply the trip — Francis spiraled into nuclear paranoia.