recite
verb (used with object)
to repeat the words of, as from memory, especially in a formal manner.
had been reciting
-
past perfect progressiveof recite.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.
Spectators watched her walk to the throne talking earnestly to her escort, later discovered that she had been reciting the Declaration of Independence to steady her nerves.
From Time Magazine Archive
Parts of his story had been awkward and stumbling, but some were stately and grand, as if he had been reciting them from some half-forgotten memory.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
My father stopped in the middle of the monologue he had been reciting for me and gave an irritated sigh.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Jasmin had been reciting for the benefit of the poor.
From Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist by Samuel Smiles
"I'm off, Phil," said Reuben at last, breaking in upon his host's ecstasy over a ballad he had been reciting, with what he counted the true Castilian magniloquence.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 100, February, 1866 by Various
