growl
verb (used without object)
to utter a deep guttural sound of anger or hostility.
had been growling
-
past perfect progressiveof growl.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.
Though she’d brought three of her makeshift weapons, she’d found no trace of whatever had been growling and screeching last night.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
In less time than it takes to tell, she came back with what no doubt he had been growling for.
From The Black Watch A Record in Action by Joe Cassells
“Yah!” said Dick, assuming a look of great disgust and contempt, although he had been growling and acting, as his mates said, like a bear with a sore head, because he could not go.
From Middy and Ensign by G. D. Rowlandson
While my childhood was rolling by peacefully, the storm of revolution which had been growling in the distance, drew ever nearer, and it was not long before it broke.
From The Memoirs of General Baron De Marbot by Oliver C. Colt
All this time Master Black-and-Gray had been growling fiercely—his entire small body quivering under the strain of producing this martial sound.
From Jan A Dog and a Romance by Norman Rockwell
