contrive
verb (used with object)
to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent.
had been contriving
-
past perfect progressiveof contrive.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.
He said he had been contriving an artificial truce, since he found we were bound by treaty not to agree to a separate truce.
From The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution (Volume VI) by Various
It was time to set some of the traps he had been contriving.
From Stalemate by Basil Wells
Clodius, who had been contriving all this while how to revenge himself on Cicero, began now to give an opening to the scheme which he had formed for that purpose.
From The Life of Cicero Volume One by Anthony Trollope
Nora turned from the shelf where she had been contriving a place to put the things they had brought from the town, and looked at him inquiringly.
From The Land of Promise by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham
