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.
These were the pearl oysters, already mentioned, which had been hastening to dissolution and decomposition, by the heat of the hold.
From Afloat and Ashore A Sea Tale by Cooper, James Fenimore
When at length she entered, Irene saw she had been hastening; but Helen's features seemed to betray some other cause of discomposure than mere unpunctuality.
From The Crown of Life by Gissing, George
Since 1800, Neptune, in his orbit from F to E, had been hastening Uranus in his orbit D from C to B, and also drawing it farther from the sun.
From Recreations in Astronomy With Directions for Practical Experiments and Telescopic Work by Warren, Henry White
Indeed, he had been hastening his footsteps full of keen apprehension when the stranger had accosted him.
From Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo by Le Queux, William
A week later again, on February 3rd, came the crash towards which, as we can now see, Keats’s physical constitution had been hastening ever since the over exertion of his Scottish tour twenty months before.
From Life of John Keats His Life and Poetry, his Friends, Critics and After-fame by Colvin, Sidney
