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
The thing which had been dawning upon her took clearer, more awful form.
From The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A dim sense of Dr. Heriot's meaning had been dawning on her slowly, but she was unwilling to confess it.
From Heriot's Choice A Tale by Rosa Nouchette Carey
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
However, of late some tardy light had been dawning upon Aldous!
From Marcella by Mrs. Humphry Ward
