portray
verb (used with object)
to make a likeness of by drawing, painting, carving, or the like.
had been portraying
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past perfect progressiveof portray.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.
He said he thought he had been portraying a reasonable picture of his competency at the time.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2020
Maria Butina’s lawyers had long contested the way prosecutors had been portraying their client as a character straight out of a spy novel.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2018
But eventually LeRoy’s story began to fall apart, revealing a fraud perpetrated by Laura Albert, an obscure novelist who had been writing under LeRoy’s name, and Savannah Knoop, who had been portraying LeRoy in public.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2017
The color stole into pretty Margery's cheeks as she heard these words, and a ray of comfort gleamed on an imagination that, for the last hour, had been portraying the worst.
From Oak Openings by James Fenimore Cooper
His face, which had been portraying an amusing mixture of perplexity and admiration, broke into a smile which encompassed all his features.
From The Parts Men Play by Arthur Beverley Baxter
