associate
verb (used with object)
to connect or bring into relation, as thought, feeling, memory, etc..
had been associating
-
past perfect progressiveof associate.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As a result members of the public who had been associating themselves with the parade became more volatile towards the congregation.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2019
In early January 1963, the N.F.L. commissioner, Pete Rozelle, confirmed on the record that the league was investigating suspicions that some of its players had been associating with known gamblers.
From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2012
Perhaps he had been associating with people who were used to circuses.
From Deephaven and Selected Stories & Sketches by Sarah Orne Jewett
It could be shown that he had been associating with those who had engaged in the plot.
From John Deane of Nottingham Historic Adventures by Land and Sea by William Henry Giles Kingston
Okématan was a great chief—much greater in the estimation of his tribe than the whites with whom he had been associating in Red River were aware of.
From The Buffalo Runners A Tale of the Red River Plains by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
