drown
verb (used without object)
to die under water or other liquid of suffocation.
had been drowning
-
past perfect progressiveof drown.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.
An interviewee had told me that the Coronation in the UK last May was very "fussy" and had been "drowning in nostalgia".
From BBC ā Jan. 15, 2024
Zinn and his wife, Dolores, had been drowning in debt from bad real estate investments.
From New York Times ā Jul. 17, 2018
He had been drowning and his father had plunged into the water to save him!
From Steve and the Steam Engine by A. O. (Arthur O.) Scott
For the same reason I say you were suffocating as surely as if you had been drowning.
From The Mystery of the Green Ray by William Le Queux
Yet, the relief I felt after the all but hopeless anguish in which I had been drowning for the last few days gave to my spirit a wild exhilaration that night.
From The Powers and Maxine by Frank T. (Frank Thayer) Merrill
