ravage
verb (used with object)
to work havoc upon; damage or mar by ruinous or destructive action.
had been ravaging
-
past perfect progressiveof ravage.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.
Apocalyptic fires had been ravaging Los Angeles for more than 24 hours when Mayor Karen Bass stepped off a plane and into a now-viral encounter that may come to define her mayoralty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2025
At that point, the polio virus had been ravaging the American landscape for years, and approximately 60,000 children were infected annually.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 18, 2021
It contained a hundred adult male inhabitants, but only fifty had brought rubber to Ilola, the remainder having been engaged in hunting down a herd of elephants which had been ravaging their crops.
From Samba A Story of the Rubber Slaves of the Congo by Herbert Strang
The saint's winding-sheet, carried in procession, dispels the plague that had been ravaging the city.
From Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Illustrated Michelin Guides to the Battle-Fields (1914-1918) by Various
He had been ravaging, pursuing, defeating Roman troops, or being defeated by them.
From Roman and the Teuton by Charles Kingsley
