hasten
verb (used without object)
had been hastening
-
past perfect progressiveof hasten.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 events had been hastening to an issue, between the hostile parties; and the time had now arrived, greatly to his secret and malignant joy, when he was free to act his will.
From The Prairie by James Fenimore Cooper
All this time his brother Robert had been hastening along in pursuit of the woman who had withdrawn from the scene to avoid the exposure and complete overthrow which would have resulted had she remained.
From The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy
Indeed, he had been hastening his footsteps full of keen apprehension when the stranger had accosted him.
From Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo by William Le Queux
While Fate, in the shape of Reuben May, had been hastening events toward a disastrous climax, the course of circumstances in Polperro had not gone altogether smoothly.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 26, September, 1880 by Various
While they talked, they had been hastening forward, and now they scrambled hastily up to the bridge deck, where they found everyone but the engine-room crew assembled.
From The Pirate Shark by Fred J. Arting
