prevent
verb (used with object)
to keep from occurring; avert; hinder.
had been preventing
-
past perfect progressiveof prevent.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.
The SEC had been preventing its own coaches from satellite camp participation, but the league’s athletic directors voted last year to drop that restriction if no NCAA-wide prohibition was instituted.
From Washington Times ● May 4, 2016
Carlos Beltran said before Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox that stiffness in his right forearm had been preventing him from throwing.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2014
At Tripoli's Rixos hotel where loyalist gunmen had been preventing nearly 40 foreigners, mostly journalists, from leaving, gunmen relented on Wednesday and let them go.
From Reuters ● Aug. 25, 2011
