dawn
noun
the first appearance of daylight in the morning.
had been dawning
-
past perfect progressiveof dawn.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 had been dawning on Luckey and Iribe and their colleagues for some time that they might not be as clear as they thought they were on what virtual reality is actually for.
From Time ● Mar. 26, 2014
It had been dawning more and more on Ken that he had been an idiot not to stay in town, where there was work to do.
From The Happy Venture by Edith Ballinger Price
However, of late some tardy light had been dawning upon Aldous!
From Marcella by Mrs. Humphry Ward
During Marilla's speech a sunrise had been dawning on Anne's face.
From Anne of Green Gables by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery
Mr. Linden looked down at her till the question was finished, but then he looked off at the dancing water; the smile which had been dawning upon his lips breaking out into very full sunshine.
From Say and Seal, Volume II by Susan Warner
