No, they do not. "Exacerbated" means "to make something worse." "There was already a shortage of nurses. The pandemic has exacerbated the situation." "Escalate" means "to raise to a higher level." For example, an "escalator" is a moving staircase that carries you upwards. If I call customer service and the representative doesn't have the ability to help me, they might say "I need to escalate this to a higher level. Please hold and I'll connect you to someone who can help you." "Escalate" is used often used for one particular situation. Suppose A attacks B. B responds by attacking A harder. A responds by attacking B harder still. A small conflict escalates into a bigger one. Both sides are guilty of escalating the conflict. In this case, "escalate" and "exacerbate." "His boss criticized him. Foolishly, he responded by yelling at the boss, which exacerbated the situation. The two of them kept yelling louder and louder. Eventually things escalated to the point where he was fired."

Hi Alex, great question! These words are tricky. There are times when these words are used similarly, but exacerbate is generally to worsen (i.e. things going from bad to worse) while escalate is to increase (so something going from less intense to more intense). To exacerbate is to make worse (for example, a situation, a problem). He exacerbated the situation by doing the wrong thing. He exacerbated the problem by not showing up and wasting our time. Exacerbated I would say is more likely to apply to situations within our control that can be managed. To escalate is to increase (something) in extent or intensity. For example, the problem escalated quickly and he didn't know what to do about it. The situation escalated beyond his control. Escalated I would say is more used for situations which can be beyond our control.