formulate
verb (used with object)
to express in precise form; state definitely or systematically.
had been formulating
-
past perfect progressiveof formulate.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.
But years before the sale, the family had been formulating a plan for its wealth that focused on family values but also held the members accountable.
From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2019
The prolific novelist and essayist had been formulating his thoughts on the bomb since the end of the war.
From Nature ● May 29, 2018
Last week President Harriman cheerfully admitted that the Chamber had been formulating plans for regulating industry and agriculture as far back as 1931.
From Time Magazine Archive
For several years, Madame, I had been formulating my African plans, but I lacked distinct purpose until I knew her.
From Those Dale Girls by Frank Weston Carruth
In this, possibly his greatest speech, he was careful not to blur the idealistic principles which, since the spring of 1916, he had been formulating.
From Woodrow Wilson and the World War A Chronicle of Our Own Times. by Charles Seymour
