behave
verb (used without object)
to act in a particular way; conduct or comport oneself or itself.
had been behaving
-
past perfect progressiveof behave.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.
It took investigations, trials, discovery, all of the tools of modern litigation, to get documents, interview witnesses, to do the fact-building that exposed just how bad the industry had been behaving.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
In one case, an unarmed responder team was dispatched to an apartment where a woman identified in the report as “Liz” had been behaving erratically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025
In recent days, the Symi’s crew had been behaving as though they believed the ship faced a threat.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 25, 2023
Tidmarsh claimed Ruby had been behaving in a "normal manner" before her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and attributed the injuries to her collapse.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2023
He was thinking of his green worm, which had been behaving oddly, refusing to eat and hanging from the side of its box with its chin tucked in.
From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau
